Deep Impact

 The Effects of a Second Concussion

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects nearly 2 million people annually in the United States, with falls and motor vehicle accidents being the most common causes (Hooley et al., 2019).
• According to Hooley and colleagues (2019), these are the most susceptible demographics to TBI:

1. Children 0 to 4 years old
2. Adolescents 15 to 19 years old
3. Adults 65 years and older

• The DSM-5 categorizes cognitive impairments from head injuries as major or mild neurocognitive disorders.

Explosive blasts in the past have caused an increase in TBI cases among military personnel, and this has caused TBI to become the signature injury of the Iraq War. About 15 percent of soldiers serving in Iraq experienced a TBI. Full recovery may not be possible for many survivers. (Hooley et al, 2019)

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Two types of brain injuries:

1. Closed-head injuries -  The skull remains intact.
1. 
   Close-head injuries cause indirect damage due to forces that cause the brain to actually inadvertently make contact with the skull wall.
2. Rotational forces can also cause the brain to inadvertently twist the brain mass in relation to the brain stem. This injury causes neuron damage due to shearing forces on the nerve fibers and their synaptic interconnections (Hooley et al., 2019).
2. Penetrating head injuries - An object enters the brain such as a bullet.

Severe head injuries will often cause someone to lose consciousness. When this happens there is a major disruption of circulatory, metabolic, and neurotransmitter regulation. These types of injuries usually lead to (Hooley et al., 2019) :

1. Retrograde amnesia - which is an inability to recall the events immediately preceding the injury
2. Anterograde amnesia - which is an inability to effectively store memories of events that happen after the trauma.

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Recovery

Recovery from unconsciousness caused by a head injury varies from minutes to days. It is not uncommon for the survivor to go through stages of stupor and confusion. In some cases, the survivor may remain in a coma for a period of time. This coma may be followed by delirium which is evident by acute excitement, disorientation, and hallucinations. Gradually all of this may clear up and the survivor may actually regain appropriate contact with reality.

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Minor closed-head brain concussions and contusions occur frequently due to car accidents, sports injuries, and falls. Some theme park rides can actually cause high enough G-forces in som individuals by creating small tears in delicate blood vessels in the brain. (Hooley, et al., 2019)

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If you have a concussion, your brain is four to five times more likely to be damaged by a second head injury, and this increased risk lasts for several weeks.

References

Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2019). Abnormal Psychology (18th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780135191033