According to Barbara from BrainLine.org: “Brain injury is a puzzle… all the pieces are there but in the wrong order” thus recovering from a brain injury can be seen as the process of rearranging and rebuilding the brain and neural networks in order to regain functioning.
This essay will discuss the processes involved in brain recovery by discussing what is neural networks and how neural trigger action potentials as well as the importance of neuroplasticity in brain recovery. Other aspects that will be discussed include the importance learning experience and therapy in the recovery or remission of a patient with brain injury.
The brain is the most complex and important organ in the human body as it controls the functioning of all other organs and body processes, thus damage to the brain is detrimental to one’s overall health and ability to function. According to Coon & Mitters (2012; Pg. 58), the brain is made up of billions of neurons (individual nerve cells) which carry input from the sensors to the brain where it is processed. Neurons also carry output from the brain in order to instruct muscles and glands to respond to the input that the brain has processed.
However, a single neuron cannot convey or process the necessary information and therefore neurons have to interlink to one another in order to create a functioning brain. A neuron is made up of a cell body (also called the soma) which contains a nucleus and neuron fibres extending outwards, that receive information, known as dendrites as well as an axon which is a fibre that carries information away from the cell body of a neuron. At the end of the axon is bulb-like structures called axon terminals that form synapses with the dendrites and somas of other neurons. This, th...
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...d on their recovery as this will enable them to assist in their own recovery as their brain will be more receptive to the changes in experience. For as Maya Angela once said: “I can be changed by what happens to me but I refuse to be reduced by it.”
Positivity, family support and regular therapy enables neuroplasticity to occur efficiently and effectively as ones brain is constantly stimulated by new experience and receptive to change. Therefore, neuroplasticity is more likely to occur and enable one to recover from brain injury or trauma as effectively as possible while taking into account the severity and type of injury or trauma.
Thus, in conclusion it has been clearly illustrated in the essay that in brain recovery after an injury or trauma neuroplasticity plays a large role and that therapy for brain injuries though vast focus on encouraging neuroplasticity.
The brain is an organ that regulates body functions, behaviors, and emotions. Neurons are the cells that fulfill these functions. How do neurons do this? A neuron plays an important role in the central nervous system. Why? Because neurons regulate how we think, feel, and control our body functions. A typical neuron has three parts: cell body, axon, and dendrites. When a neuron receives an electrical impulse, that impulse travels
I intend to explore the effects of a parietal brain injury from the perspective of a neuropsychologist; ranging from types of tests that are employed when trying to determine the extent of the damage, to gaining an understanding of how this damage will affect the rest of the brain and/or the body. I will also explore the effects of a brain injury from the perspective of the family members, and their experiences with the changes that occur during the rehabilitation process. According to The Neuropsychology Center, “neuropsychological assessment is a systematic clinical diagnostic procedure used to determine the extent of any possible behavioral deficits following diagnosed or suspected brain injury”(www.neuropsych.com). As mentioned previously, a brain injury can be the result of many types of injuries or disorders, thus a broad range of assessment procedures have been developed to encompass these possibilities.
Scientists are on the brink of doing the unthinkable-replenishing the brains of people who have suffered strokes or head injuries to make them whole again. If that is not astonishing enough, they think they may be able to reverse paralysis. The door is at last open to lifting the terrifying sentence these disorders still decree-loss of physical function, cognitive skills, memory, and personality.
The brain is a complex system of interconnected parts. It contains over one hundred billion “neurons” and trillions of supportive “glia” cells (Siegel, 2012, p. 15). For neurons and neural networks, what fires together wires together.
Children who suffer from Traumatic Brain Injury might suffer from learning disabilities as a result of their injury.
The neurons or brain cells are shaped like trees. Young brain cells, called soma, resemble an acorn or small seed of a tree. The seed sprouts limbs when stimulated, called dendrites. Further on in development, the cell will grow a trunk like structure called an axon. The axon has an outer shell, like the bark of a tree, called the myelin sheath. Finally, at the base of the cell, there are root-like structures called axon terminal bulbs. Through these bulbs and the dendrite of another cell, cells communicate with each other through electrochemical impulses. These impulses cause the dendrites to
Neuroplasticity means that the “circuits,” or the connections between brain cells, constantly changes as our brain works to think, perceive, and obtain new skills or memories. New neurons can even take over old tasks if an area of the brain is damaged.
According to source (1), "Plasticity refers to how circuits in the brain change--organize and reorganize--in response to experience, or sensory stimulation." There appear be four types of stimuli to which a brain responds with change: developmental, such as in the newly formed and ever evolving brain of a child; activity dependent, such as in cases of lost senses; learning and memory, in which the brain changes in response to a particular experience; and finally injury induced, resulting from damage in the brain, as occurs in a stroke or in the well-know case of Phineas Gage. Although the particular change in the brain is dependent on the type of stimulus, brain plasticity can be widely described as an adjustment in the strength of synaptic connections between brain cells. (1)
My objective in the long term is to provide therapeutic and counseling services that assist persons suffering with traumatic brain injury (TBI) or acquired brain injury (ABI) in coping and recovering from the mental illnesses that often accompany such tragedies. TBI/ABI has shown a proven link with “anxiety, depression, personality changes, aggression (National Alliance on Mental Illness Veterans Resource Center May 8, 2009 Traumatic Brain Injury)”, as well as many other issues. As the caregiver for a survivor of a rare and deadly strain of encephalitis, I have a personal perspective that I feel brings much to the discussion. I see the information I am currently gathering at Empire State College as the building blocks that pave the way to a thrilling career in a growing segment of the mental health industry. The CDC claims that approximately 1.4 million Americans suffer TBIs annually (Centers for Disease Control Injury Center May 30, 2007 Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths) and it has been called the “signature injury” of the current wars in Iraq & Afghanistan by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. As such, it is my belief that we need to focus time and energy on developing new programs to help these patients to cope with the new limitations and encourage rehabilitation and restoration.
Out of the numerous fascinating concepts covered in this course I found that neural plasticity and memory were two of the most interesting and personally relevant topics. Neural plasticity involves the brains ability to reorganize neural circuits to better adapt to physical or environmental changes. This course primarily covered plasticity with regards to recovering from physical damage to the brain as well as the initial development of the brain and how environmental factors influence this process. With brain damaged victims, neural recovery is almost always apparent; this occurs through either the growth of new axons and dendrites if the cell body remains intact, or a heightened sensitivity of surviving neurons. When axons cannot regrow
Should the fear of brain trauma, change the rules of sports for good? Athletes have been susceptible for brain injuries since contact sports were invented. Although some are familiar with this, many people are unaware of the long term ramifications that often come with these types of injuries. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (ALS) is a disease that is slowly plaguing our nation, starting with athletes. It is one of the fatal repercussions of repetitive head trauma, that is often overlooked. CTE, also known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is also a disease caused by head trauma that can drastically impact one’s life. CTE’s have a subset of different associated diseases such as Alzheimer's, Dementia, Parkinsons, and Huntingtons disease.
Brain plasticity, also known as neuroplasticity, is the ability of the neurons to alter their form or function in response to the environmental stimulation. Neurons operate in the brain’s circuitry along with other neurons; they can alter their function by changing the way they respond to inputs or influence other neurons through the strength of synaptic relationships.
The brain has separate parts that have functions for each part, each of these parts depend on each other to properly function as a whole. If one part is damaged
As the human body goes through different experiences, the brain grows, develops, and changes according to the environmental situations it has been exposed to. Some of these factors include drugs, stress, hormones, diets, and sensory stimuli. [1] Neuroplasticity can be defined as the ability of the nervous system to respond to natural and abnormal stimuli experienced by the human body. The nervous system then reorganizes the brain’s structure and changes some of its function to theoretically repair itself by forming new neurons. [2] Neuroplasticity can occur during and in response to many different situations that occur throughout life. Some examples of these situations are learning, diseases, and going through therapy after an injury.
Neuroplasticity Neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to remap itself in response to experience. The theory was first proposed by Psychologist William James who stated “Organic matter, especially nervous tissue, seems endowed with a very extraordinary degree of plasticity". Simply put, the brain has the ability to change. He used the word plasticity to identify the degree of difficulty involved in the process of change. He defined plasticity as ".the possession of a structure weak enough to yield to an influence, but strong enough not to yield all at once" (James, 1890).