Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Traumatic Brain Injury 625
Specifiers
Rate the severity of the neuroc ognitive disorder (NCD), not the underlying traumatic brain
injury (see the section “Development and Course” for this disorder).
Diagnostic Features
Major or mild NCD due to traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by an impact to the head,
or other mechanisms of rapid movement or di splacement of the brain within the skull, as
can happen with blast injuries. Traumatic brain injury  is defined as brain trauma with spe-
cific characteristics that include at least one of the following: loss of consciousness, post-
traumatic amnesia, diso rientation and confusion, or, in more severe cases, neurological
signs (e.g., positive neuroimaging, a new onset of seizures or a marked worsening of a pre-
existing seizure disorder, visual field cuts, anosmia, hemiparesi s) (Criterion B). To be at-
tributable to TBI, the NCD must  present either immediately after the brain injury occurs or
immediately after the individu al recovers consciousness afte r the injury and persist past
the acute post-injury period (Criterion C). 
The cognitive presentation is variable. Difficulties in the domains of complex attention,
executive ability, learning, an d memory are common as well as slowing in speed of infor-
mation processing and disturbances in social cognition. In more seve re TBI in which there
is brain contusion, intracranial hemorrhage, or  penetrating injury, there may be additional
neurocognitive deficits, such as aphasia, neglect, and constructional dyspraxia.
Associated Features Supporting Diagnosis
Major or mild NCD due to TBI may be accompanied by disturbances in emotional function