As communities continue to be more and more diverse in their populations, the number of languages present increases as well. As bilingualism becomes more common in households across the world, the benefits of such a skill of knowing more than one language has come into question.
There is a theory, typically called the “critical period hypothesis” that states that children have an easier time learning and better benefit from learning a second language in comparison to adults. This theory follows the stereotypical generalization that the left brain is the “logical and analytical” side of the brain, whereas the right brain is considered to be “emotional and creative.” Though this has been disproven and is no longer a well-held theory in psychology and neuroscience, you still see it from time to time in generalizable situations.
For example, the “critical period hypothesis” states that children get more out of learning a second language because their brains are still developing, and synaptic plasticity is at a high. This is believed to allow children to learn the language on both sides of the brain and gain an emotional component to the language, where adults are believed to lean more towards a “left-brain” understanding of the language.
This learning of a second language tends to be localized to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex which is also highly involved in executive functioning, such as working memory and flexible thinking. The learning of a second language is believed to strengthen executive function, and in turn be a neuroprotective factor of neurogenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Though the idea of teaching a child a second language seems like a simple “YES” answer, there is a secret hinderance that has come into the light of research. With 1.4 million individuals experiencing a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on a yearly basis with most occurring in the prefrontal cortex or temporal lobes, it definitely raises the question if bilingualism still shows similar neuroprotective factors.
According to Raitu et al. (2017), a bilingual brain is just as susceptible to the impaired executive function and cognition as any monolingual brain. Even if the neurons are strengthened by the bilingual brain they still undergo immense strain following an mTBI. This strain comes from the calcium influx, axonal injury, altered neurotransmission, and vulnerability to second injury from an energy metabolism crisis. Specifically, axonal injury and altered neurotransmission is believed to be at the root of impaired cognition and executive function following an mTBI.
Besides being just as susceptible to executive function deficits, bilinguals are also at an increase risk of language control deficits following a mTBI. One theory states that following a mTBI, languages return in a disproportionate manner with the one most frequently used at time of impact returns faster. Monolinguals sustaining one mTBI have not been mentioned to experience such a deficit.
This language control deficit coming from axonal injury raises a concern from the lack of myelination seen in younger children. Myelination offers a “cushion” to the axon, and a decreased volume of myelin on any neuronal axon can significantly impact the results of an mTBI.
To put it all together, if a child learns a second language during the critical period of development, it can significantly benefit them in the long run. However, they are at an increased risk of executive function and language control deficits after sustaining an mTBI, or concussion, due to lack of myelination on axons in their developing brain. This can impact the recovery time and “Return to Play/Learn”. This is not meant to discourage bilingualism, but to show how important it is to take head injuries seriously in children with their developing brain.
Photo Sourced From: https://mosaicscience.com/bilingual-brains/
In The Brain
CBD Vs. THC?
develop depressive symptoms afterward, which is quite a dramatic number. Another fact that was found is equally concerning: one study found that after only a mild traumatic brain injury, there was a 15% chance that the person developed major depression. This is the lightest and least serious type of brain injury (which you can get simply by hitting your head slightly too hard) and the worst, most serious type of depression, occurring in more than 1 in 7 people who experience a concussion. This is significant not only because of the depression part, but because this points to concussion as being more than purely “an annoyance”. In fact, the total prevalence across all severities of TBIs for major depression is 14-29%. In other words, up to a third of people who experience a concussion develop the clinically-worst type of depression. 
The app essentially functions as a gamified symptoms journal, where concussed individual reports symptoms and feelings, then the app turns those inputs into a game-like version of their feelings. This can help avoid social isolation associated with concussion recovery, especially since concussion patients are urged not to do anything that may be detrimental to their recovery. Within the app, users could form a network around their symptom log and comment and interact with other users’ posts, generating a cohesiveness between patients that may be looking for some more interaction when able. The main takeaway here is that, while you shouldn’t be overstimulating your brain and harming recovery, you can use what little screen time you have in a positive manner, leading to a more efficient recovery.
from behind, let’s examine what occurred microscopically inside of his brain as a result. The sudden movement inside his skull most likely started out with neurons becoming “leaky”, or more permeable for ions to flow in/out of the cell. For TBIs, there is an extreme influx of calcium and sodium ions with an efflux of potassium ions.
body compared to the amounts being consumed intracellularly results in an unfavorable side product being formed with ATP (lactate) and extra calcium getting stored in the mitochondria. Shrinking and running out of options, these cells quickly realize that they are now only doing more harm than benefit and decide to turn to apoptosis: programmed cell death.
disruptions. 
The changes described in the following list take place in neurons, which are brain cells that send signals to one another to let us think. Neurons are shaped a bit like an oak tree. Signals come into branches at the ‘top’ of the tree, travel down the neuron’s axon, which would be the tree’s trunk, and go out through the roots to the next neuron. The signal that comes into the branches is a neurotransmitter chemical. The neurotransmitter either tells a neuron to fire (which means to be activated and pass the signal on to the next neuron, which passes it to the next, and so on), or not to fire. If a neurotransmitter tells a neuron to fire, molecules that have positive or negative electric charges cross the cell membrane (a thin membrane like a water balloon that lets molecules go in and out) and change the voltage of the entire neuron. Becoming more and more 
28.4% of people who suffer mTBI report an increase in aggression
disorder”. For instance, participants that have internet abuse behaviors had higher impulsivity, or in other words, a lower response inhibition. They had a more difficult time inhibiting a natural response to wanting to play a game or browse social media. These participants also had a heightened activation of brain regions that deal with reward response. The responses seen through MRI were positively correlated with self-reported urges to game. The correlation here to drug addicts would be that not only are the same brain regions activated, but these urges are similar to drug users experiencing cravings, which are neurological in nature but manifest to influence behaviors. Another way in which this addictive quality can be seen with chemical changes in the brain is through looking at the dopaminergic system. In drug addicts, the binding capacity for dopamine receptors is diminished, which means that drug users need more of that drug (or higher doses) to feel the same amount of high as they have before. This is also referred to as tolerance. This reduced dopamine capacity was also found in internet abuse participants. In participants that were identified as having gaming related addictions, their binding potential (or ability to feel good while playing their game) was diminished in ways that rivaled an injection of amphetamines, a highly addictive (and psychoactively responsive) drug. 
