According to Ph.D. holder Pramod Dash, “it has been estimated that nearly 2 million people suffer some degree of head injury every year in the United States alone.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 1.7 million people in the United States have a traumatic brain injury each year. Brain injury can be defined as something that isn’t hereditary, degenerative, or present at birth that causes damage to the brain. The most common types of brain injury are traumatic brain injury, concussion, and stroke. Brain injuries cause “changes in metabolism and function of cells not only in close proximity to the dying tissue but also in more remote brain regions… connected with the injured area” (Pekna and Peknyl) making them
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It receives and sends signals to other parts of the body. There are six main parts of the brain: the brainstem, the cerebellum, the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobes, and the temporal lobes (“Part 2”). The effect of the injury depends on where it is centralized in the brain. For example, if one’s brain stem is injured, it may affect that person’s breathing, heart rate, and their ability to swallow. However, the effect of the injury can spread to other regions of the brain due to the brain’s interconnected neural network.
There are many different subtypes of brain and head injury. A closed head injury is an injury where “damage occurs because of a blow to the person’s head or having the head stop suddenly after moving at a high speed” (“Understanding TBI”). This type of injury doesn’t penetrate the brain or the skull. Its opposite is an open head injury. During an open head injury, the skull and other layers of the head are broken through and exposed to the surrounding environment. This type of injury is usually localized in a specific area of the brain whereas a closed head injury can spread throughout the …show more content…
Axons are the structures that electrical signals and neurotransmitters flow through in order to reach another nerve cell’s dendrites. When these structures are damaged, the ability to relay signals is inhibited resulting in … As axons are damaged, the ionic flow across the neuronal membrane becomes irregular. This leads to the excessive release of excitatory neurotransmitters. In an attempt to control this large scale excitation, the brain uses large amounts of energy. This is called hypermetabolism and takes place when there is a decreased amount of cerebral blood flow. However, this is unsuccessful. Because there isn’t enough glucose to keep up with the energy need, the brain falls back on lactic acid fermentation. This allows for an accumulation of lactate which can lead to more neuronal dysfunction by means of “acidosis, membrane damage, altered blood brain barrier permeability, and cerebral edema” (Giza and Hovda). The energy crisis caused by the need to regulate the neuronal membrane voltage most likely makes “the brain less able to respond adequately to a secondary injury” and could lead to everlasting deficits (Giza and
It receives and sends signals to other parts of the body. There are six main parts of the brain: the brainstem, the cerebellum, the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobes, and the temporal lobes (“Part 2”). The effect of the injury depends on where it is centralized in the brain. For example, if one’s brain stem is injured, it may affect that person’s breathing, heart rate, and their ability to swallow. However, the effect of the injury can spread to other regions of the brain due to the brain’s interconnected neural network.
There are many different subtypes of brain and head injury. A closed head injury is an injury where “damage occurs because of a blow to the person’s head or having the head stop suddenly after moving at a high speed” (“Understanding TBI”). This type of injury doesn’t penetrate the brain or the skull. Its opposite is an open head injury. During an open head injury, the skull and other layers of the head are broken through and exposed to the surrounding environment. This type of injury is usually localized in a specific area of the brain whereas a closed head injury can spread throughout the …show more content…
Axons are the structures that electrical signals and neurotransmitters flow through in order to reach another nerve cell’s dendrites. When these structures are damaged, the ability to relay signals is inhibited resulting in … As axons are damaged, the ionic flow across the neuronal membrane becomes irregular. This leads to the excessive release of excitatory neurotransmitters. In an attempt to control this large scale excitation, the brain uses large amounts of energy. This is called hypermetabolism and takes place when there is a decreased amount of cerebral blood flow. However, this is unsuccessful. Because there isn’t enough glucose to keep up with the energy need, the brain falls back on lactic acid fermentation. This allows for an accumulation of lactate which can lead to more neuronal dysfunction by means of “acidosis, membrane damage, altered blood brain barrier permeability, and cerebral edema” (Giza and Hovda). The energy crisis caused by the need to regulate the neuronal membrane voltage most likely makes “the brain less able to respond adequately to a secondary injury” and could lead to everlasting deficits (Giza and