Dr. Munro Cullum: What We Know (and Don’t) About Brain Trauma, Dementia, and CTE

From NFL headlines to youth sports sidelines, the conversation around concussions and long-term brain health is growing louder. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy — a degenerative brain disorder linked to repeated head injuries — has been found in the brains of football players, military veterans, and others exposed to ongoing brain trauma. But CTE remains shrouded in mystery, in part because it can only be definitively diagnosed after death. So how much do we actually know about this condition — and how is it different from other types of brain injury?

Join us Thursday, July 10, at 11 a.m. PT / 2 p.m. ET for a Live Talk with University of Texas neuropsychologist Dr. Munro Cullum, a leading expert on CTE pathology. He’ll break down what science has uncovered so far — and what remains unknown — about the relationship between concussions, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), and long-term brain degeneration.

Cullum is professor of psychiatry, neurology, and neurological surgery at UT’s Southwestern Medical Center. He holds the Pam Blumenthal Distinguished Professorship in clinical psychology, serves as vice chair and chief of the division of psychology in UT’s department of psychiatry, and he’s the senior neuropsychologist at the Peter O’Donnell Brain Institute at UT Southwestern.

Cullum has spent decades at the forefront of investigations into the brain pathology that indicates CTE and its potential causes. Specifically, he’s researched the short- and long-term effects of concussion, and the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions, among other topics related to brain health.

RSVP to learn more about CTE, the difference between CTE pathology and traumatic encephalopathy syndrome, and how neuropsychologists and neurologists are working to understand the causes of this high-profile degenerative brain disorder.