Traumatic brain injury (TBI) initiates a complex cascade of pathophysiological events that have far-reaching consequences beyond the initial injury. This review examines the current state of the literature on the mechanisms underlying neurotrauma and neuroinflammation, with particular emphasis on the molecular cross-talk between these disparate pathways that ultimately precipitates the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). We integrate this mechanistic knowledge with potential diagnostic biomarkers, such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), neurofilament light chain (NfL), and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), and advances in neuroimaging and machine learning-based predictive tools. Finally, we discuss the current therapeutic approaches under investigation, and highlight which molecular targets have yet to be explored for potential therapeutic development.

Lucid dreams—when one is aware of dreaming while still asleep—are notoriously elusive but highly valued both for personal goals and basic sleep research. Lucid dreams can be produced by pairing sensory cues with cognitive training, followed by cue presentation during REM sleep. This method, Targeted Lucidity Reactivation (TLR), requires minimal personal effort, unlike many existing methods for promoting lucid dreaming. Theoretically, TLR might be effective either because cues produce a lucid mindset during sleep or because cues operate nonspecifically to increase arousal. Here we show that TLR can be translated from a laboratory procedure that requires an experimenter to monitor sleep stages to a procedure implemented with a smartphone application for individuals to use on their own. Results from two experiments provided insights into TLR procedures and how to improve them. In one experiment, we found that participants reported significantly more lucid dreams while using the TLR app compared to prior to app use. In a second experiment, we replicated this result and found that cues were most effective if paired with cognitive training before sleep, suggesting that success depends on reactivating a lucid mindset. TLR thus holds promise for broad scientific and personal purposes.