What happens when you have a concussion? - Clifford Robbins
-
0:07 - 0:09Each year in the United States,
-
0:09 - 0:12players of sports
and recreational activities -
0:12 - 0:17receive between 2.5
and 4 million concussions. -
0:17 - 0:19How dangerous are all those concussions?
-
0:19 - 0:21The answer is complicated,
-
0:21 - 0:25and lies in how the brain responds
when something strikes it. -
0:25 - 0:30The brain is made of soft fatty tissue,
with a consistency something like jello. -
0:30 - 0:34Inside its protective membranes
and the skull's hard casing, -
0:34 - 0:38this delicate organ
is usually well-shielded. -
0:38 - 0:41But a sudden jolt can make the brain shift
-
0:41 - 0:45and bump against
the skull's hard interior, -
0:45 - 0:49and unlike jello, the brain's tissue
isn't uniform. -
0:49 - 0:53It's made of a vast network
of 90 billion neurons, -
0:53 - 0:58which relay signals through their long
axons to communicate throughout the brain -
0:58 - 1:00and control our bodies.
-
1:00 - 1:03This spindly structure makes
them very fragile -
1:03 - 1:09so that when impacted, neurons
will stretch and even tear. -
1:09 - 1:11That not only disrupts their ability
to communicate -
1:11 - 1:15but as destroyed axons begin
to degenerate, -
1:15 - 1:21they also release toxins
causing the death of other neurons, too. -
1:21 - 1:24This combination of events causes
a concussion. -
1:24 - 1:27The damage can manifest
in many different ways -
1:27 - 1:28including blackout,
-
1:28 - 1:29headache,
-
1:29 - 1:30blurry vision,
-
1:30 - 1:32balance problems,
-
1:32 - 1:33altered mood and behavior,
-
1:33 - 1:36problems with memory,
thinking, and sleeping, -
1:36 - 1:40and the onset of anxiety and depression.
-
1:40 - 1:42Every brain is different,
-
1:42 - 1:47which explains why people's experiences
of concussions vary so widely. -
1:47 - 1:50Luckily, the majority of concussions
fully heal -
1:50 - 1:55and symptoms disappear
within a matter of days or weeks. -
1:55 - 1:58Lots of rest and a gradual return
to activity -
1:58 - 2:01allows the brain to heal itself.
-
2:01 - 2:03On the subject of rest,
-
2:03 - 2:06many people have heard that
you're not supposed to sleep -
2:06 - 2:11shortly after receiving a concussion
because you might slip into a coma. -
2:11 - 2:13That's a myth.
-
2:13 - 2:17So long as doctors aren't concerned there
may also be a more severe brain injury, -
2:17 - 2:19like a brain bleed,
-
2:19 - 2:23there's no documented problem with
going to sleep after a concussion. -
2:23 - 2:26Sometimes, victims of concussion can
experience something -
2:26 - 2:30called post-concussion syndrome, or PCS.
-
2:30 - 2:34People with PCS may experience
constant headaches, -
2:34 - 2:35learning difficulties,
-
2:35 - 2:39and behavioral symptoms that even
affect their personal relationships -
2:39 - 2:43for months or years after the injury.
-
2:43 - 2:46Trying to play through a concussion,
even for only a few minutes, -
2:46 - 2:50or returning to sports too soon
after a concussion, -
2:50 - 2:54makes it more likely to develop PCS.
-
2:54 - 2:57In some cases, a concussion
can be hard to diagnose -
2:57 - 3:00because the symptoms unfold slowly
over time. -
3:00 - 3:04That's often true of
subconcussive impacts -
3:04 - 3:07which result from lower impact jolts
to the head -
3:07 - 3:10than those that cause concussions.
-
3:10 - 3:13This category of injury doesn't cause
noticable symptoms right away, -
3:13 - 3:18but can lead to severe degenerative
brain diseases over time -
3:18 - 3:20if it happens repeatedly.
-
3:20 - 3:25Take soccer players, who are known
for repeatedly heading soccer balls. -
3:25 - 3:28Using a technique called
Diffusion Tensor Imaging, -
3:28 - 3:32we're beginning to find out what effect
that has on the brain. -
3:32 - 3:36This method allows scientists to find
large axon bundles -
3:36 - 3:41and see how milder blows
might alter them structurally. -
3:41 - 3:44In 2013, researchers using
this technique discovered -
3:44 - 3:47that athletes who had
headed the ball most, -
3:47 - 3:49about 1,800 times a year,
-
3:49 - 3:54had damaged the structural integrity
of their axon bundles. -
3:54 - 3:57The damage was similar to how
a rope will fail -
3:57 - 4:01when the individual fibers start to fray.
-
4:01 - 4:05Those players also performed worse
on short-term memory tests, -
4:05 - 4:08so even though no one suffered
full-blown concussions, -
4:08 - 4:14these subconcussive hits added up
to measurable damage over time. -
4:14 - 4:18In fact, researchers know that an
overload of subconcussive hits -
4:18 - 4:24is linked to a degenerative brain disease
known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, -
4:24 - 4:26or CTE.
-
4:26 - 4:30People with CTE suffer from changes
in their mood and behavior -
4:30 - 4:33that begin appearing in their 30s or 40s
-
4:33 - 4:36followed by problems with thinking
and memory -
4:36 - 4:41that can, in some cases, even result
in dementia. -
4:41 - 4:44The culprit is a protein called tau.
-
4:44 - 4:50Usually, tau proteins support tiny tubes
inside our axons called microtubules. -
4:50 - 4:55It's thought that repeated subconcussive
hits damage the microtubules, -
4:55 - 4:59causing the tau proteins to dislodge
and clump together. -
4:59 - 5:04The clumps disrupt transport
and communication along the neuron -
5:04 - 5:09and drive the breakdown of connections
within the brain. -
5:09 - 5:11Once the tau proteins
start clumping together, -
5:11 - 5:14they cause more clumps to form
-
5:14 - 5:16and continue to spread
throughout the brain, -
5:16 - 5:20even after head impacts have stopped.
-
5:20 - 5:22The data show that at least
among football players, -
5:22 - 5:28between 50 and 80% of concussions
go unreported and untreated. -
5:28 - 5:31Sometimes that's because it's hard to tell
-
5:31 - 5:33a concussion has occurred
in the first place. -
5:33 - 5:37But it's also often due to pressure
or a desire to keep going -
5:37 - 5:40despite the fact that something's wrong.
-
5:40 - 5:42This doesn't just undermine recovery.
-
5:42 - 5:44It's also dangerous.
-
5:44 - 5:47Our brains aren't invincible.
-
5:47 - 5:49They still need us to shield
them from harm -
5:49 - 5:52and help them undo damage
once it's been done.
- Title:
- What happens when you have a concussion? - Clifford Robbins
- Speaker:
- Clifford Robbins
- Description:
-
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-happens-when-you-have-a-concussion-clifford-robbins
Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities receive between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it. Clifford Robbins explains the science behind concussions.
Lesson by Clifford Robbins, animation by Boniato Studio.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 06:16
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