title: Philosophy of mind: coming to terms with traumatic brain injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients and their families struggle with accepting changes in personality after traumatic brain injury (TBI). A neuroanatomic understanding may assist with this process.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We briefly review the history of the Western conceptualization of the Self, and discuss how neuroscience and changes in personality wrought by brain injuries modify and enrich our understanding of our selves and our patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The sense of self, while conflated with the concept of a "soul" in Western thinking, is more rationally considered a construct derived from neurophysiologic structures. The self or personality therefore often changes when the brain changes. A neuroanatomic perspective can help patients, families, and clinicians accept and cope with the sequellae of TBI.
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado School of Medicine, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Randall D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Buzan
authors.affiliation: Learning Services Neuro-behavioral Institute - West, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kupfer
authors.affiliation: Learning Services Neuro-behavioral Institute - West, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Dixie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eastridge
authors.affiliation: University of Colorado Denver, CO, USA.
authors.forename: Andres
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lema-Hincapie
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019365:Metaphor; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D010684:Philosophy; D011603:Psychophysiology; D012069:Religion and Psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Traumatic brain injury; personality change; philosophy of mind