Becoming a Different Person with No Control

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is often overlooked or not given the attention it needs. CTE is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder which is caused by repetitive head traumas, which damage the brain, thereby causing lasting effects to the individual affected. These changes especially impact their behavior, causing them to be more aggressive, impulsive, and even suicidal. When CTE is talked about it is mainly discussed alongside high-impact sports, but it also has a grasp on a large amount of the military population. There has been a great deal of information published and research completed surrounding CTE and how it can be prevented, measured, or how the symptoms can be controlled. Behavioral changes are a huge part of this disorder; in order to synthesize the many ways CTE changes behavior the authors will look at the findings from 20 research articles. The purpose of this study is to examine the available literature surrounding CTE and to synthesize an answer for the clinical question being investigated: how does repetitive head trauma affect behavior over time? It is hoped that this study will provide the readers with an idea of what CTE is and all of the associated risks that can occur within a high impact lifestyle.