Abstract:
The Carolinas Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Research System (CTBIRRS) is a comprehensive service delivery and research system of Carolinas Rehabilitation serving individuals with newly acquired traumatic brain injury (TBI). For the research activities of this project, a comprehensive, rigorous approach is used to study post-traumatic irritability. In this approach to understanding irritability, we investigate the relationship to the caregiver as a component of the environment; the response to amantadine hydrochloride; and the nature of the problem as experienced by those in the community. The first study on caregiver environment assesses the relationship of post-traumatic irritability in individuals with TBI to caregiver, coping, mood, global health, life satisfaction, caregiver burden, social support, spirituality, family environment, and marital satisfaction. The amantadine study is a randomized, controlled trial to determine the role of amatadine on decreasing the severity, frequency, and caregiver distress of irritability. The third project applies Participatory Action Research methodology in a rigorous approach to engage individuals with TBI and their family members in helping to define and decipher the complex problem of irritability as they experience it. The research studies were developed with input from the TBI community, with continued community involvement along the course of the project through implementation to dissemination.

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