Concussion Has Major Mental Health Consequences
Concussion has been a hot topic in the NFL recently, with evidence of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) found in many deceased football players who have had mental disabilities later in their life. CTE has been found in many former NFL players who have committed suicide, and in the case of Jovan Belcher, who murdered his girlfriend before committing suicide. This has caught the eye of suffering of football players who develop CTE is no longer going unnoticed.
CTE is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated concussions or sub-concussive blows that occur frequently with people who play football, depending on the force of the blow. When concussions occur, there is a period of time in which the brain is especially vulnerable to subsequent concussions, which can lead to future problems with the brain.
The Chemicals in the Brain are Altered After Concussion
According to this literature review on concussion, after a concussive blow occurs the neurotransmitter glutamate is released in high amounts throughout any impact-affected brain. Glutamate is a chemical normally released neuronal cells as a signal in the brain during synaptic transmission (communication between neurons), that creates a response from the target cell to change its calcium levels by opening up a calcium channel.
After concussion, too much glutamate released indiscriminately throughout the damaged areas causes all of the surrounding neurons to take in too much calcium for the neuron to function normally, as calcium is involved in energy production, axon structure, and overall proper function. This excess calcium not only causes the axons of neurons to break down and become nonfunctional, but it also prevents the neuron from producing the necessary energy it needs to function.
Hence, cognitive impairment in the form of dizziness, slurred speech, and whole host of other symptoms exist that may also depend on what part of the brain has been damaged.
In order for the neuron to resume its normal ability to function, it must return to its normal levels of calcium and glutamate. In studies of rats with concussion, the glutamate levels in their brain are fixed within a day after injury, but the calcium problem can take at least a week to be fully restored, leaving the brain much more vulnerable to damage from further concussions.
In humans, this recovery period could be much longer with our significantly larger and smarter brains, and it says nothing about the permanent structural damage that has been done. The more neurons that need to be repaired, the longer it needs to fix itself. But it may be even longer, as researchers have also identified possible indicators that the brain chemical balance is not fully restored after an entire month.
Repeated Concussions Cause More Damage
The worst damage is done when repeated concussions occur before the brain has fully recovered. NFL players with their incredible speed and power are the most likely to have these kinds of subsequent concussions. Not every concussion has to be majorly debilitating, and may even be completely unnoticeable in the case of sub-concussions. What does this mean for the rest of the world’s younger football players?
Youth football players also often get concussions throughout their career from elementary school to high school, a period of very important brain development. After someone gets a concussion and becomes more and more susceptible to them, they could go on to college football and develop a problem of CTE.
The thing about CTE is that it doesn’t stop getting worse when the person stops getting injuries – it is progressive, meaning the brain will only get worse until it ends in something like suicide.
Ban Football?!
The management of repeated brain injury is a critical issue to address in a country made up of football lovers (or Superbowl commercials, chicken wings, and beer lovers).
Parents have to make a decision about whether it is okay for our kids to risk concussion or have fun at football practice every day. Of course the vast majority of youth players live great lives without mental health problems later on, but there are some that don’t. Some people are unlucky and get concussions many times during their lives, and that could be setting them up for failure.
As the research continues to be done on the details of concussion, we continue to understand more about this problem and we will be able to make smarter decisions about it. Could we be smarter, happier, and live more fulfilling lives without any concussions, or is there a certain number or severity of concussions that crossing a critical point of no-turning-back for our brain?
