Workshop - Talin Babikian

This presentation will update participants on the most recent understanding of neuropsychological and functional outcomes and their biopsychosocial determinants after the severity spectrum of traumatic brain injuries, with a particular emphasis on the developing nervous system. The goal will be to expand beyond traditional, blunt injury severity categories to consider phenotypes that better explain the heterogeneity of outcomes following injury.  To do so, acute medical profiles, including imaging findings, will first be reviewed, with a subsequent emphasis on the role of non-injury factors in outcomes.  These non-injury factors range from ancestry and social determinants, to early life experiences that form the nervous system’s response to adversity, the quality of personal/social networks, as well as to a wide range of comorbid conditions.  This discussion will set the stage for an introduction to rehabilitation approaches, both individually and on a community level.

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Learning objectives: Delegates will be able to:

1. Identify early injury related markers that contribute to post TBI prognosis.

2. Understand the premorbid and comorbid tapestry individuals bring to an injury that shape outcome profiles.

3. Explore neuropsychological perspectives on rehabilitation, both on an individual and community level.

 

Level: Intermediate.  This workshop will suit early career neuropsychologists with an interest in learning about the broad landscape of TBI, or experienced neuropsychologists looking to add additional perspectives in the TBI clinical and research space.

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Facilitator: Prof Talin Babikian

Dr. Talin Babikian is a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and Associate Clinical Professor in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.  She is also Associate Director of the UCLA BrainSPORT Program, an inter-departmental and multi-disciplinary program for identifying and treating brain injuries — including concussions — in youth and professional athletes, where she oversees the Sports Neuropsychology Fellowship training program.  She is actively involved in clinical research identifying biopsychosocial markers of repair, recovery, and outcomes following a brain injury in childhood. She has authored and presented several works on this topic in academic journals and at professional seminars nationally and internationally.

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Keywords: paediatric and adult;  TBI and concussion; outcomes and determinants