Experts on brain injury are advising against making assumptions based on limited information about a soldier in the Army Reserve who committed the deadliest mass shooting in Maine last year, resulting in the death of 18 people.

Researchers at Boston University studied a portion of Robert Card’s brain tissue and concluded that there were signs of traumatic brain injury. Dr. Ann McKee, from the university’s Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center, reported that the analysis, which was requested by the Maine medical examiner, revealed nerve fiber degeneration, inflammation, and small blood vessel damage, all of which affect communication between various parts of the brain.

Card had been an instructor at an Army hand grenade training range, where it is believed he was exposed to repeated low-level blasts. It is unknown if that caused Card’s brain injury and what role the injury may have played in his declining mental health before he opened fire at a bowling alley and bar in Lewiston on Oct. 25.

McKee did not link the injury to Card’s aggressive behavior.

“While I cannot say with certainty that these pathological findings underlie Mr. Card’s behavioral changes in the last 10 months of life, based on our previous work, brain injury likely played a role in his symptoms,” McKee said in a statement released by the Card family.

According to Dr. Alexandra Filippakis, a neurologist who has specialized in treating individuals with traumatic brain injuries, she does not believe there is sufficient evidence to determine that Card’s behavior was affected by a brain injury, based on McKee’s explanation of her discoveries.

According to Filippakis, TBI is a wide-ranging diagnosis that can manifest differently in individuals. Symptoms and severity can vary greatly, making it impossible to definitively link to one specific cause or action.

Filippakis, an employee at Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire, noted that the connectivity damage described by McKee is a frequent occurrence with various possible causes, such as age, high blood pressure, and smoking.

She stated that this could have various interpretations and the given information cannot solidify any assumptions.

However, James Stone, a radiologist at the University of Virginia who has conducted research on repeated low-level blast exposure in the military, stated that the alterations in Card’s brain were significant.

According to him, these types of injuries can impact one’s ability to control impulses and regulate emotions. He also mentioned uncertainty about whether or not Card’s brain was affected in these areas, but it is difficult to believe that the significant changes observed in the brain did not play a role in his behavior.

Chris Dulla, an interim chair of neuroscience and professor at Tufts School of Medicine, expressed his surprise over the lack of evidence for chronic traumatic encephalopathy in professional football players, according to researchers.

“It appears that it’s not that simple,” he stated. “This highlights the complexity of traumatic brain injuries and the challenges in diagnosing them, even when studying every aspect in postmortem brain samples.”

According to Dulla, the results emphasize the correlation between brain injuries and mental health issues.

According to the speaker, having a mental illness or being vulnerable to one can be worsened by a brain injury, causing it to become a more prominent issue rather than a minor factor.

According to experts, experiencing a traumatic brain injury can cause symptoms such as headaches, mood swings, forgetfulness, and difficulties with sleep. Research by Stone has revealed that repeated exposure to even minor blasts can have a significant impact on the brain. The Department of Defense has been actively investigating this matter, and Stone, a member of a panel on the issue, shared that new guidelines will be released in May for both the U.S. military and NATO partners.

He stated that they have been very forward-thinking regarding this issue.

A representative from the Army expressed concern on Thursday regarding the laboratory results concerning Card. They also emphasized the importance of the Army’s efforts to safeguard soldiers against injuries caused by blasts.

Besides revising the instructions on reducing risk, the Army intends to initiate a campaign for promoting public safety and implement the need for recording training areas and monitoring individuals who have been exposed.

According to Sean Hodgson, a close friend of Card and a fellow reservist, safety was of utmost importance at their training area and the explosive activities were carefully supervised.

He stated that you experience it internally, but it is not strong.

Hodgson stated that he never heard any complaints about the explosions. He believes that it is one of the safest locations for a shooting range. He also mentioned that he never heard any complaints about the blasts.

Hodgson contacted his Army superior six weeks prior to the shooting expressing his increasing worries about Card, stating, “I think he is on the verge of a violent outburst and may carry out a mass shooting.”

On September 15, it was reported that authorities were notified by family members about Card’s heightened paranoia and their worry about his possession of firearms.

In July, Card was admitted to a psychiatric facility for a 14-day period after pushing another reservist and isolating himself in a motel room. Following this, the military banned Card from carrying weapons while on duty and determined him unfit for deployment in August.

The family of Card, who have not spoken publicly since the shooting, expressed their apologies on Wednesday for the incident. They stated that they are devastated for the victims, those who managed to survive, and their families.

“We sympathize with your pain and share in the difficulty of expressing just how much we wish we could reverse what occurred,” they stated. “Although we cannot reverse time, we are making public the results of Robert’s brain study in hopes of furthering efforts to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.”

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Ramer provided a report from Concord, New Hampshire.