It is possible for the brain to heal itself, with new brain cells growing to replace damaged ones, but much of the 'recovery' we experience is actually due to the brain 're-wiring' itself and finding new pathways to bypass recently-broken connections.
“The brain's ability to repair or replace itself is not limited to just two areas. Instead, when an adult brain cell of the cortex is injured, it reverts (at a transcriptional level) to an embryonic cortical neuron.
A plethora of complications from traumatic brain injuries, ranging from minor cognitive delays to debilitating and life threatening symptoms such as seizures and coma, can follow the victim for years after the injury. You need to know that brain injury recovery time can take anywhere from a few weeks to ten years.
As with most tissues in the body, the brain has mechanisms to regenerate itself, such as, previously mentioned, endogenous neurogenesis and neuroplasticity (Sharma et al., 2013). However, these processes are limited after injury (Modo, 2019).
While damage to the brain following a traumatic brain injury is permanent because damaged brain cells cannot regenerate or repair themselves, there is hope for functional recovery. This is because functions affected by TBI may be rewired and improved by healthy brain cells.
And one of the most exciting and important recent discoveries is that brain cells DO regenerate throughout your entire life. We now know that neurogenesis — the formation of new brain cells — is not only possible, it happens every day.
Omega-3 fatty acids: These nutrients are known for improving overall brain health and promoting neurogenesis: the process of creating new neurons in the brain. They can be found in fatty fish like salmon and certain nuts and seeds like flaxseed. They offer a straightforward way to help heal brain damage naturally.
Brain damage may be temporary or permanent and recovery can be prolonged. Concussion — a type of mild TBI that may be considered a temporary injury to the brain but could take minutes to several months to heal.
Unlike most other injuries, a brain injury doesn't simply heal in time and many people who sustain a moderate or severe brain injury will never fully recover to be the person they once were and live the life they once lived. But with the right help, at the right time, there can be life after brain injury.
Dendrites are cellular extensions found in the neurons, or nerve cells. This suggests that depression is not an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder. Instead, its impact on the brain may be reversible, and the brain can heal.
Nerve Cells Do Not Renew Themselves
After an injury, the skin makes a bunch of new cells and uses them to heal your wound. Yet, nerve cells in your brain, also called neurons, do not renew themselves. They do not divide at all.
Approximately 60 percent will make a positive recovery and an estimated 25 percent left with a moderate degree of disability. Death or a persistent vegetative state will be the outcome in about 7 to 10 percent of cases. The remainder of patients will have a severe degree of disability.
Your doctors will monitor you and may prescribe medications to limit additional brain damage. If you have severe brain damage, you could need emergency surgery. It can take time to fully heal from these types of brain injuries, but brain rehabilitation therapy may help limit long-term symptoms.
Scientists now know that the brain has an amazing ability to change and heal itself in response to mental experience. This phenomenon, known as neuroplasticity, is considered to be one of the most important developments in modern science for our understanding of the brain.
The functions of the amygdala, hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex that are affected by emotional trauma can also be reversed. The brain is ever-changing and recovery is possible.
Without oxygen, brain cells die, and a brain injury can occur. It can happen even when enough blood reaches the brain, such as when you breathe in smoke or carbon monoxide. Treatments can help people who have brain injuries from cerebral hypoxia. But no one can bring back dead brain cells or reverse a brain injury.
It is likely that humans are born with all of the nerve cells (neurons) that will serve them throughout life. For all practical purposes, when our neurons die, they are lost forever.
The good news is that scientists have now discovered that you can grow new brain cells throughout your entire life. The process is called neurogenesis. Specifically, new brain cells–which are called neurons–grow in the hippocampus.
Diagnosis of TBI
Assessment usually includes a neurological exam. This exam evaluates thinking, motor function (movement), sensory function, coordination, eye movement, and reflexes. Imaging tests, including CT scans and MRI scans, cannot detect all TBIs.
Summary: Pathological anxiety and chronic stress lead to structural degeneration and impaired functioning of the hippocampus and the PFC, which may account for the increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders, including depression and dementia.
An individual with TBI may have difficulty focusing, paying attention, or attending to more than one thing at a time. Difficulty concentrating may lead to restlessness and being easily distracted or they may have difficulty finishing a project or working on more than one task at a time.
Newer, specialized MRIs can measure brain function for detecting changes in brain function and structure because of TBI or evaluate the structure of the brain at an even finer level. MRI might show brain atrophy long after the injury, which results when injured or dead brain tissue is reabsorbed after TBI.