System and method for early detection of mild traumatic brain injury

[0040]Brain injury is associated with disturbances in brain regulation and spontaneous movements during sleep. The present invention contemplates using actigraphy as a supplement or alternative to brain injury screening with prior art imaging technologies. Timing, vigor, and duration of spontaneous movements during sleep are stable individual characteristics from fetal life to adulthood. They are distinct from full arousal events and represent a normal aspect of sleep. In humans and other vertebrates, movements during sleep occur as phasic activity during rapid eye movement sleep, as full postural changes during state change, and during brief arousals or full awakening. In animal and human models, spontaneous movements during sleep are also periodic, related to brainstem / medullary pattern generator and have characteristic and duration that is species-specific. In humans, state-independent movement periodicities have been reported for feeding in infants, rest-activity cycles in adult...