Plasticity and Brain injuries Part Two

Plasticity and Brain injuries Part Two

Effects of a Traumatic Brain Injury

      In the previous blog, I discussed what plasticity is and how it affects the brain. In this blog I will discuss traumatic brain injuries and how plasticity reacts and rehabilitates the brain.

Severe brain injury insults and brain injuries cause rapid cell death, and this disrupts the functional circuits, in the affected regions. After the brain tissue is injured there is a possibility of recovery from insults associated with cell death, because of a regenerative process like plasticity. After plasticity is activated there is a higher chance of recovery. Depending on the magnitude of the injury the brain can suffer from tissue damage, disruption of internal circuits, and disruption of cognitive, other higher functions, and crucial sensory-motor functions. Recovery of damaged brain cells includes three phases: phase one is cell activation, phase two is regaining functional cell plasticity, and phase three is neuroanatomical plasticity leading to the formation of new neural pathways3.

Plasticity Reaction to a Brain Trauma

        The brain is a dynamic organ that has a natural ability to adapt and change with time. Even after the brain has been injured, the brain is able to change by setting up new pathways and connections between neurons that carry the messages back and forth in our brain. We now know the brain is able to create new neurons in in certain sections of the brain, although no one knows the exact purpose or extent. Plasticity of the brain occurs during every stage of development in someone’s lifecycle. “Plasticity is more likely to occur when there is stimulation of the neural system, meaning that the brain must be active to adapt. Changes do not occur without exposure to a stimulating environment that prompts the brain to work. These changes do not occur quickly. That is one of the reasons that recovery goes on for months and sometimes years following TBI2”.

Rehabilitation of a Brain Injury

        In today’s age, traumatic brain injuries have become much more common in society than before, but there is more knowledge about brain injuries and how to treat them.

According to the Centers for Disease, Control, & Prevention, every year about 1.7 million people suffer a traumatic brain injury in the United States; of them, almost 80% get treatment and leave the emergency department1.

        In the past, when someone had severe brain injuries and fell into a semi-coma or a coma, they did not have very high chances of surviving before any neurological recovery because there was not life support devices yet. The doctors also did not know that the brain could heal itself, allowing someone to survive a brain injury1. Until recent years doctors perceived the brain as a static organ, not having the ability to change or heal. Now that doctors understand that the brain is not a static organ they now understand that it is possible for an injured or missing part of the brain to either regrow neural pathways or allow the other side of the brain to take over. Because of this a patient who suffered from a traumatic brain injury may be able to relearn how to walk, talk, or other daily tasks depending on the severity of the injury. Speech and physical rehab is very important for a patient with a brain injury to start as soon as possible to start the plasticity process.  The first six to 12 months after a traumatic brain injury provide a good indication of how the patient will in the future1.  

1Landaue, E. (2011, May 5). The brain's amazing potential for recovery. CNN Health. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/05/05/brain.plasticity.giffords/

2Novack, T. (2002). Understanding tbi: Part 1 - what happens to the brain during injury and the early stages of recovery from tbi?. Retrieved from http://www.msktc.org/tbi/factsheets/Understanding-TBI/What-Happens-During-Injury-And-In-Early-Stages-Of-Recovery

3Wieloch, T., & Nikclich, K. (2006). Mechanisms of neural plasticity following brain injury. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 16(3), 258-264. Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959438806000626/1-s2.0-S0959438806000626-main.pdf?_tid=7641226c-50fc-11e3-9d98-00000aab0f6c&acdnat=1384853279_4fe8856a9d89702b9226a07d8a78fd9e