Traumatic Brain Injury

How do I understand it?

The Healthy Brain

To understand what happens when the brain is injured, it is important to know what a healthy brain is and what it does.

The brain is enclosed inside the skull. The skull acts as a protective covering for the soft brain tissue. Beneath the skull is strong, smooth protective layer called the dura mater. It extends down the spine as well.

The brain tissue itself is made up of millions of neurons (nerve cells) that carry messages throughout the brain. The brain uses these messages to perform functions.

The functions include:

• Coordinating our body’s systems (breathing, heart rate, temperature and metabolism)
• Processing thoughts and feelings
• Creating body movements and receiving body sensations
• Forming and expressing our personality and behavior
• Coordinating our sensory experiences such as taste, touch, sight, smell and hearing.

Each part of the brain serves a special function and links with other parts of the brain to perform more complex functions. To learn more about the brain, follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain .

The Injured Brain

When a brain injury occurs, the functions of the neurons, nerve tracts, or specific areas of the brain can be affected. If the neurons and nerve tracts are affected it can disrupt the messages that tell the brain what to do. This can change the way a person thinks, acts, feels, and moves the body. Every brain injury is different.

Brain injury can also change the complex internal functions of the body, such as regulating body temperature; blood pressure; bowel and bladder control and blood sugar. These changes can be temporary or permanent. They may cause impairment or completely stop our ability to perform a certain function.

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