Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) Explained with Wendy Forrester
After Episode 104 I Believe in Helmets with Brandon Cox, came out, we were all reminded how important helmets are to protect your brain from brain injuries. Climber and ICU nurse Wendy Forrester (@wpforrester) helps break down what happens in the brain during a traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The brain is the most complicated organ in the body, and to help better understand what happens to neural pathways, Wendy compares the brain to an orchestra and all the parts that make an orchestra cohesive.
The individual “musicians” of the brain are the neurons.
When neurons send signals to other cells, they create bundles and regions which are similar to different sections of an orchestra such as the "strings” or “percussion”. These regions can control sight, hearing, problem solving, etc.
The “conductor” of the brain is the electrical field that is responsible for all these signals that coordinate function (i.e., thought, memory, movement, sensation, or emotion).
When any of these components get interrupted, as would happen during a traumatic brain injury, it affects the entire system and the brain won’t function as smoothly. And depending on the type and severity of injury, TBIs have a large spectrum as to what can happen afterward.
