CONCUSSION involves a bang on the head followed by unconsciousness or giddiness then a few days of headache and nausea. At least that is the usual understanding.
But on the battlefield it has come to mean something altogether more sinister: a blast-induced brain injury with a catalogue of symptoms such as fatigue, irritability and insomnia (see “Brain shock”).
The US military claims 1 in 5 of its soldiers are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan debilitated by such symptoms, which it claims are due to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), as concussion is also known, and has launched screening programmes.…
