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TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI) / CONCUSSION / Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)


The Brain has about 86 Billion Neurons and about 100 Trillion connections. Every head injury is different depending on how the injury occurred, what was affected, and how recovery was enhanced or impaired. 

When there is a sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head, the brain is shaken up or rotated inside the skull, which causes the nerve fibers to stretch and tear. And some of these nerve fibers can have long stalks, so there can be widespread damage in the brain. There can also be Hemorrhaging / Bleeding in the brain, and also Edema, – which is swelling in the brain tissue.

 
On the surface, it might feel like the injury is normal. But any person closely interacting with the injured, like loved ones, might feel that the injured is not the same anymore.
 
An individual with a head injury needs to get evaluated for other related symptoms, like: depression, emotional lability, executive function decline, trouble with relationships, vision problems, sleep problems, difficulty to balance a check-book, or trouble remembering how to get to a familiar destination like the local supermarket, and so on.
 
Children are affected differently from adults and may have greater difficulty to express their symptoms.

 
If someone is involved in a head injury, please do not ignore it just because that person “looks fine or the brain imaging looks fine”.


I am in a distinctive position to recognize, assess, analyze, and effectively present the symptoms, to substantiate the case to the opposing counsel, adjustors or the jury. This is particularly crucial when everything apparently seems to look fine, but the injured is still grappling with genuine symptoms, and sadly no one seems to be able to understand.

brain headache

HOW SOME PARTS OF THE BRAIN 
ARE AFFECTED IN TBI

Brain Lobes

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Problems:

  • Personality / Motivation

  • Moods / Emotions

  • Problem Solving / Choices

  • Impulse Control / Judgment

  • Attention / Concentration

  • Language Production

  • Initiation & Planning Movement 

  • Inflexible thinking

  • Ruminating Thoughts / Anxiety

FRONTAL LOBE

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Problems:

  • Visuo-Spatial Perception

  • Touch, Taste, Smell

  • Math / Calculation

  • Read / Write (academics)

  • Recognize Rt vs. Lt side

  • Recollect/Repeat Words

  • Assembling Objects

  • Deny Deficits (Front-Temp-Pariet)

  • Recognizing own body parts

PARIETAL LOBE

CEREBELLUM

Problems:​​​

  • Co-ord / Posture / Balance & Equilibrium

  • Dizziness / Double Vision / Nystagmus

  • Judge Distances

  • Learn New Movement / Fine Motor Control

  • Rapid Alternating Movement

  • Tremors (intentional)

Problems:​​

  • Hearing / Tinnitis / Smell

  • Speak / Understand Words

  • Organizing & Sequencing

  • Memory Loss

  • Emotion / Mood

  • Recognize Faces

  • Musical Skills

  • Fear & Pain Conditioning

TEMPORAL LOBE

BRAIN STEM

Problems:​​​​ 

  • Reflexes (gag, sneeze, swallow) / Breathing

  • Digestion / Swallowing

  • Sense of Balance / Vertigo / Nystagmus

  • Body Temp / Blood Pressure / Heart Rate

  • Alertness (Arousal & Sleep Regulation)/ Consciousness

  • Pain Perception & Pain Response

  • Facial Sensation and movement

  • Serotonin / Dopamine / NorEpinephrine

OCCIPITAL LOBE

Problems:

  • Visual /Depth Perception

  • Recognize Faces & Objects

  • Perceive Colors, Shapes, Angles

  • Sense Speed & Direction

  • Localize Objects

  • Can read letters, not words

  • Recall Visual / Scene Details

HORMONES

Problems:​​​

  • GH (Growth Hormone)  —>  (Bones / anti-inflammatory / Muscles / Organs / Nerve cells / Oligodendrocytes

  • ACTH (Cortisol / Steroid) - response to Stress

  • FSH / LH (Ovaries / Testes) - Estrogen / Testosterone

  • Prolactin (Mammary)

  • TSH (Thyroid)

  • OXYTOCIN  - Perception of Fear / Milk Let Down

  • VASOPRESSIN (ADH) - BP (Water Retention)

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  • Other NeuroTransmitters: Dopamine, Epinephrine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin, GABA, Glutamate

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