Brain injuries

The Army tells NPR of plans to monitor blast exposure across a military career, to enforce limits on firing certain weapons, and to even look into whether special helmets could help stop blast waves.

Service members who fire certain weapons can get concussion-like symptoms from the blasts, an Army-commissioned report finds. It urges taking measures to cut the risk of lasting brain damage.

Scientists believe they have solid evidence that repeated direct hits to the head can cause the degenerative brain disease seen in some athletes, even if there are no signs of concussion.

Gina "Danger" Mazany is a professional mixed martial arts athlete, and she's helping researchers learn more about head injuries and the female brain.

Troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are far more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder if they have suffered a concussion. The reason may be a change in the brain's fear circuits.

A group of specialists called the Gray Team challenged the dogma that said head injuries were serious only if they were obvious and bloody. Bomb blasts can lead to lasting but invisible damage.