Pathological laughter and crying are common after TBI and associated with depression.
Abnormal control of emotions (including episodes of laughing or crying with minimal or no provocation) can occur in multiple neurologic diseases. The frequency of pathological laughing and crying (PLC; also known as pseudobulbar affect) after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with mood disorders have not been well studied. Researchers prospectively examined these relationships in 103 patients who were hospitalized after a first TBI (mean age, 43; 62% male).
TBI severity was mild in 57% of patients, moderate or severe in 40%, and unknown in 3%. Prevalence of PLC was 21% at 3 months, 18% at 6 months, and 16% at 12 months, with laughing being relatively uncommon (1%, 5%, and 3%, respectively). Participants with mild TBI had the h…
Reviewing Author
DisclosuresRoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions
Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)
DisclosuresRoyaltiesTextbook of Traumatic Brain Injury, 2nd and 3rd editions
Editorial BoardsUpToDate; Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience
Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNorth American Brain Injury Association (Board Member); National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (Chair of Data Monitoring Safety Board for study of donepezil on cognition after traumatic brain injury)