Aparna Vijayan, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist, Neuroscience and Rehabilitation Center
Eisenhower Army Medical Center
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. But it is important to know about the brain, how it works and how a concussion can affect brain function temporarily.
The average human brain, far right, is made up of approximately 80-90 billion neurons. Each neuron, above right, is a cell that has a head and a tail. Both the head and tail have innumerable branches that connect with other neurons.
At the junctions, these neurons communicate with each other through chemical signals. It is easy to say there are hundreds of billions -- if not trillions -- of connections. When you sustain a mild concussion or a mild traumatic brain injury, it literally causes something akin to a short circuit in the brain. You have billions of neurons that are potentially disturbed from their normal state of connections. You may be dazed, see stars, have your bell rung or even have brief loss of consciousness, less than 30 minutes.
Compare the brain to an electrical circuit. An electrical circuit is made up of wires which can easily be replaced by an electrician in a few minutes. However, the damage from a concussion takes time to resolve since there is no surgical procedure to fix the connections between the billions of neurons. Hence, the general recovery from a concussion, or mTBI, takes anywhere from about two weeks up to three months. In some cases, it can go up to four to six months.
Typical symptoms noted after a concussion, or mTBI, include headaches, sleep disturbances -- including difficulty getting to or staying asleep or sleeping excessively -- changes in mood including increased irritability, and difficulty with concentration and recall.
During the recovery period, it is important to rest your brain and gradually return to normal activity. Symptoms typically tend to worsen with exertion. Adequate sleep is necessary to facilitate recovery. The guidelines for returning to activity vary based on activities in the home, work, school and play.
If you are symptomatic, return to driving, to work, to school and to play will need to be under the guidance of a physician. If the symptoms do not go away in 10-14 days, it is recommended that you seek medical help.
For information about recovery from a concussion/mTBI, contact Eisenhower Army Medical Center's TBI Clinic at 706-787-5864.
-- Source: Herculano-Houzel, S. (November 2009). The human brain in numbers: a linearly scaled-up primate brain. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Volume 3,
Article 31, 1-11.
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