Analysing Conversational Discourse After Traumatic Brain Injury: Isn't It About Time?

Abstract Most studies of conversational discourse in traumatic brain injury (TBI) have used summary measures averaged over time. These measures have yielded useful aggregate data but do not capture the temporal dynamics of interpersonal interactions. To fully characterise the conversational discourse of individuals with TBI, it may be useful to consider individuals and behaviours as systems changing over time. In this article, we review dynamic systems approaches that have been used to study conversational interactions, and present data to illustrate their potential utility in characterising the conversational discourse of individuals with TBI.