Are neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with evidence of right brain injury in referrals to a neuropsychiatric brain injury unit?

Studies suggest that neuropsychiatric symptoms are more common in patients with injury to the right side of the brain. However, most studies have examined patients with penetrating injuries because these allow more accurate localization of brain damage. This study investigates whether a similar association would be found in patients with non-penetrating brain injuries presenting to a neuropsychiatric unit. Over a 2 year period, 98 referrals were examined. Damage was localized using routine operation notes, EEG and neuroimaging. In total, 34 patients (35%) had a predominately right-sided injury, 33 (34%) had a left-sided injury and 31 (32%) had a diffuse or bilateral injury. Right-sided injuries were associated with hallucinations (p = 0.05), and left-sided injuries were associated with confabulation (p = 0.05) and lack of insight (p = 0.07). These results are consistent with findings from patients with penetrating head injuries. They suggest that evidence of the laterality of injury may be useful for planning the rehabilitation of patients seen in neuropsychiatric brain injury units.