The University of Texas at Dallas - Center for BrainHealth

The Center for BrainHealth is a renowned research institute focused exclusively on brain health for all. The Center's life-improving mission: to understand, protect, and heal the human brain.

 

Spotlight

 

Rebounding and Recovering: Victory Over Concussion

Johnnie, a lightning-quick Dallas high school wide receiver, was sprinting downfield ball in hand when he was blindsided just short of the goal line. The tackle cost him more than a score. It resulted in an injury to his brain, an injury produced by a violent blow and followed by a temporary (or – who knew at that point? – a possibly prolonged) loss of brain function. Johnnie left the game with a concussion.

A few weeks ago, the United States Congress held a hearing on head injuries in young athletes. Legislators were told that youth who suffer concussions – the bane of high school sports – are at greater risk of long-term physical and mental detriments than their non-injured counterparts. Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office noted that the number of high school concussions is significantly underestimated, assuredly due in no small part to macho jock “play through the pain” mentality.

This is alarming. Center for BrainHealth research shows that a child’s brain continues to undergo development and refinement until around age 25; for those first two-and-a-half decades, the human brain is notably vulnerable to harm. Center scientists are examining the effects of concussion both immediately after injury and in the weeks and years to come. Recent research reveals that, similar to the way a severely sprained ankle is more susceptible to future sprains, once a person experiences a concussion he or she is three times more likely to have another one, with children and adolescents at the greatest risk of repeat.

“Head injuries take time to heal, especially in the case of children and young adults,” said BrainHealth’s Lori Cook, Ph.D., an expert on pediatric brain injuries. “Parents, coaches, teachers, and adult supervisors of all stripes need to pay special attention to a child who may have suffered a concussion. Diminishing the chance of long-term harm is critical.”

Recognizing danger signs following a child’s concussion can lessen the risk of future impairment. Authorities strongly urge taking a post-concussive child to see a doctor if he or she experiences headaches, dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, loss of balance, memory problems, numbness, or seizures.

BrainHealth is working on a number of approaches to uncover potential damage that concussion can bring, including: collaborating on a multi-site project funded by the National Institutes of Health investigating recovery from long-term pediatric brain injury, including concussion; exploring genetic factors suspected of playing a role in how children recover from brain injury; working in tandem with national pediatric acquired brain injury initiatives to develop the first nationwide registry for those 25 and younger; and, providing research-based clinical assessment and intervention in children who have suffered concussions.

Johnnie and other young competitors like him triumph from research efforts by Center for BrainHealth scientists designed to minimize the chance of long-term damage resulting from all-too-common concussions. When weighed against his whole future, that victory beats the short-lived elation of a high school touchdown any day.