Relating in Vivo Pathophysiology to Neuropathology after Human Head Injury

The meticulous clinico-pathological studies undertaken by the Glasgow School of Neuropathology have indicated that various processes may prove lethal or be associated with severe disability and yet it has been difficult to define those processes in life. Examples include cerebral ischaemia, cholinergic dysfunction and the different patterns of neuropathological damage associated with the vegetative state. This problem of linking neuropathology to processes in life is almost certainly a result of the historical limitations of technology available for clinical studies. Recent developments including continuous computerised multi-modality bedside monitoring, functional brain imaging (PET and MR), neuropsychological profiling and in vivo ‘neuropathology’ using voxel based MR morphometry are beginning to bridge the gap between in vivo pathophysiology and neuropathology.