I'm Elise Hugh and you're listening to TED Talks Daily. Today, research on brain injury that may

change the way you think about people in the criminal justice system. Neuropsychologist Kim Gorgans

shares eye-opening discoveries that stunned me and changed the way I think about people in jail, especially

the women who have been locked up. It's hopeful because once we understand these discoveries,

we'll know how to make the system safer. She gave this archive talk at TEDx Mile High in

2018. A traumatic brain injury or TBI is a disruption in brain function caused by an external blow to the head.

And when you hear that definition, you might think about sports and professional athletes

since it's the kind of injury we're used to seeing on the playing field.

And this imagery has really come to define TBI in the public consciousness.

I myself do research on TBI and retired in college athletes.

I stood on a TED stage in 2010 talking about concussions and kids sports.

So I have to say, as someone who researches and treats these injuries,

that I've been really gratified to see the growing awareness of TBI

and specifically the short and long-term risks to athletes.

Today, though, I want to introduce you to a larger but no less controversial group of people

impacted by traumatic brain injury who don't often show up in the headlines.

I've come to recognize inmates and probationers as surprisingly among the most vulnerable

members of society.

For the last six years, my colleagues and I have been doing research

that has completely changed the way we think about the criminal justice system

and the people in it.

And it may change the way you think about those things too.

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