Abstract for presentation at 6th World Congress on Brain Injury

Objective:
To examine the concept of motivation and the different mechanisms by which motivation can be affected by brain injury.
Method:
Concepts such as anhedonia, abulia, inertia, anergia, drive disorder, dysexecutive deficits, arousal deficits, apathy and indifference will be defined and the underlying concepts critically examined.
Results:
A seven stage model of goal directed activity which allows forms of motivational deficit to be differentiated will be described and illustrated by clinical examples. The implications that these distinctions have for rehabilitation will be outlined. The model embraces both neurogenic and psychogenic causes for motivational deficits following brain injury.
Conclusions:
Change in motivation is an important but neglected area in brain injury rehabilitation. Within an integrated model it is possible to identify different forms of motivational deficit that have implications for the rehabilitation approach to be adopted.