During President Obama’s State of the Union Address on January 28th, the crowd gave an unusually long standing ovation when they heard the story of Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg. Remsburg, an Army Ranger, suffered severe brain damage after shrapnel from a road side bomb in Afghanistan penetrated his brain in 2009 (De Wind, 2014). Since then, his recovery seems to have progressed remarkably. The story has gained a lot of attention and watching him get to his feet during the applause was touching; I encourage those of you who have not actually watched it to do so. My husband suffered a traumatic brain injury the same year, though a very mild one compared to Remsburg. Watching the clip of Remsburg and remembering my husband’s injury got me thinking about the brain. It is so susceptible to damage, but yet so capable of recovery.
In “Cognitive Psychology”, Goldstein talks about how specific parts of the brain serve a variety of functions and how damage to these areas from trauma or illness can interrupt cognitive processes (2011). Even minor damage from a mild concussion can cause nerve damage and disturb these processes. Minor traumatic brain injuries can interrupt cognitive functions like memory and reasoning, sensation, language functioning, and a long list of emotional problems ranging from irritability to personality changes (Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, 2010). These would be rather short-term for mild TBI, but severe TBI from blunt force or physical tissue severing, like in Remsburg’s case, would result in more serious and long-term or permanent problems (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2014).
As vulnerable as the brain is and for all the functions that can be interrupted or halted completely when nerve damage occurs, the brain also has a remarkable ability to repair itself. The brain’s plasticity allows it to generate new neural pathways to make up for those that were lost. Existing pathways can even change their connections to perform different functions, changing the localization of functions. Some individuals who suffer severe injuries that result in detrimental brain damage can still make remarkable steps on the road to recovery and literally re-teach their brain how to perform certain functions (Hammond, 2002).
I enjoy studying the brain and its functions and I think it’s interesting to learn about how we process things. But the vast amount of research that has been done specifically on TBI serves more than a just scholarly or medical purpose; it has created so many resources for people who experience a TBI. I think it’s important for people to understand how trauma affects the brain, especially if they are in a career where they are at risk for TBI, or even if their kid plays sports. I think we should be out of the “how many fingers am I holding up?” period and into the stage where we take head injuries seriously and take advantage of the knowledge and treatment options available.
Bibliography
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. (2014). Traumatic brain injury. Brainline.org. Retrieved from http://www.brainline.org/content/2010/06/traumatic-brain-injury.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Injury prevention and control: Traumatic brain injury. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/concussion/index.html
De Wind, Dorian. (2014). SOTU address: A speech and an evening that ‘belonged to the purple heart recipient in the first lady’s box’. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dorian-de-wind/sotu-address-a-speech-and_b_4688698.html
Goldstein, E.B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research, and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
Hammond, K. (2002). Neuroplasticity. Huntington’s Outreach Program for Education, at Stanford. Retrieved from http://www.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-bin/wordpress/2010/06/neuroplasticity/
I too have suffered minor brain damage. I experience facial spasms, which are involuntary muscle contractions in my face. Every day for the past four years, I experience repetitive squinting, blinking, mouth twitching, and nose twitching. I have been diagnosed with Hemifacial spasm (HFS) which is an involuntary twitching or contraction of the facial muscles on one side of the face. My spasm takes place on the right side of my face. Even though doctors say medication, surgery, or Botox injections are options to stop the spasms and relieve the discomfort. They are of no permanent or guaranteed cure. Each treatment offers benefits, but each has limitations. My doctors have told me that they are unsure of the cause.
The facial muscles are controlled by the facial nerve (seventh cranial nerve), which originates at the brainstem and exits the skull below the ear where it separates into five main branches. The facial nerve is primarily a motor nerve, meaning it controls muscles that move the eyebrows, close the eyes, and move the mouth and lips. These spasms have often caused me embarrassment. I often wear sunglasses and fail to look at people in the eyes for long periods of time without my eye twitching.
I too am fascinated by the brain and it’s ability to recover. The latest National Geographic has an article related new studies on the brain. Scientists have implanted a sensor into the brain of a woman paralyzed by a massive stroke, that is capable of controlling a computer and a robotic arm. Miguel Nicolelis has created a full-body exoskeleton that a monkey can control with it’s brain (Zimmer, 2014, 56). Nicolelis believes that brain implants will become as common in the future as devices such as pacemakers (Zimmer, 2014, 56).
Thank you for recommending that we investigate the story of this injured service member.
Zimmer, C., 2013, Secrets of the Brain, National Geographic, Vol 225, 2. p. 28-57.