It Remains Unclear How Head Blows Affect Behavior Over the Long Term

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It’s not clear how repeated injuries to the head that lead to neurodegeneration actually affect people’s behaviors, argue University of Buffalo researchers in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry. Though people are often reported to present as “cuckoo, goofy, or slug nutty” following one or more blows to the head, the researchers state in a press release on Health Canal, more studies are needed with larger numbers of people to understand what’s happening and why.

How are CTE and behavior linked? The answer requires more in-depth research, scientists say (Health Canal, December 4, 2014)

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  2. Seriously??? It isn’t CLEAR how ” REPEATED blows to the head that lead to neuro degeneration
    ( brain damage, injury?) actually AFFECT people’s behavior”?? Is it THAT difficult to connect brain damage with changes in behavior?? Wow, someone hit this man with a bat multiple times, causing concussions and a profound change in behavior was noted. Gosh, we need to STUDY this to come to some conclusions….
    In light of the reports of dementia, mood instability, rage, homicidal or suicidal behaviors, depression, found in many athletes who suffered repeated head injuries, what kind of uncertainty about what brain injury does??
    MORE studies with LARGER numbers of people are needed to “understand what is happening and why”?? You don’t have to be a researcher to understand this; the village idiot could figure this out, but they can’t??? Perhaps these researchers would have insisted they needed more studies to determine what was happening with lobotomies and why??
    Pathetic.
    Just like researchers need MORE than the dozens of animal and autopsy studies of ECT damaged brains and the testimonies of thousands of brain damaged victims to figure out what is REALLY causing that brain damage and behavioral deterioration!!

    ECT=closed head injury, traumatic brain injury with the benefit of brain boiling electrical current.
    Its effect=brain injury. “Side effects” = increased risk of epilepsy, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cardiac damage, retinal detachments…..fabulous…

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    • I could understand if they meant the cell biology/biochemical/molecular mechanisms. Like inducing necrosis and run off immune response or inducing small strokes and local ischemia etc. that is actually important because when someone hits his/her head really bad you want to know what you should do to minimise the damage. But the idea on how they think about studying it seems weird. Sure what happens depends which part of the brain is affected and what kind of injury it was. Duh.

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