Concussion Brain: What's Happening In The First 24 Hours After A Head Injury
Posted: 08/20/2013 3:11 pm EDT
A new study gives a glimpse into what exactly is going on in the brain in the first hours after a concussion.
Researchers found that in the first 13 hours after a concussion, there are decreases in activity in certain regions of the right hemisphere of the brain. However, seven weeks after a concussion, there is more activity in these brain regions than in people who didn't experience a concussion in the first place.
"This hyperactivation may represent a compensatory brain response that mediates recovery," study researcher Thomas Hammeke, Ph.D., who is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said in a statement. "This is the first study to demonstrate that reversal in activation patterns, and that reversal matches the progression of symptoms from the time of the injury through clinical recovery."
Read more at the Huffington Post