Brain Scans Prove Difference Between PTSD and TBI

This may come as a shocker to UCLA and other researchers but

Although PTSD and TBI can have similar symptoms, in a brain scan, they look nothing alike, the researchers found.

In 2012 UCLA researchers thought they were right after studying rats.

The motivation behind the study, which was conducted in rats, was the observed correlation of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, and PTSD, particularly in military veterans returning from service overseas, said Michael Fanselow, a UCLA professor of psychology and the senior author of the study.

Just pointing that out and now here is more of the article


Brain Scan Can Tell PTSD Apart from Traumatic Brain Injury 
Healthline
Written by R. Sam Barclay
Published on July 11, 2015

When it comes to treating TBI and PTSD, it’s important to be able to tell the two apart. The treatments for one can be harmful for people with the other.

In 2008, Capt. Patrick Caffrey of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines’ Combat Engineer Platoon was deployed in Afghanistan.

The combat engineer’s goal was to detect and remove mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other hazards from roads, clearing the way for troops and supplies to move through.

By the time Caffrey left Afghanistan, he had survived three explosive blasts that caused concussions.

These weren’t the first concussions in his life. He’d already had five or six such head injuries from playing sports and from other incidents.

Still, when he first got home, he felt fine. Not just fine, but fortunate that he’d survived Afghanistan unscathed.

Or so he thought.

Over the weeks and months following his return, Caffrey began to deteriorate. He began experiencing headaches and difficulty sleeping, as well as problems concentrating, focusing, and remembering. He had frequent angry outbursts, which he’d never experienced before.

“I was rude and nasty to people, and the worst part was that I didn't really know just how much I had changed,” said Caffrey.

But when Caffrey sought medical help, his diagnosis was unclear. A history of surviving explosive attacks, coupled with his symptoms, pointed to two different possible conditions: traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
read more here