neuro note 4

Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE.

Football is life in my household; from tailgating to screaming at the television, we do it all in my family. We love the atmosphere, the sense of pride it brings, and the unity that comes from cheering for the same team.  Football, however, does have its down side and it stems from concussions or TBI’s. As we all know, majority of football players get some type or form of a concussion while playing the mighty game, however while I was doing some research I discovered that these injuries are one of the main causes of suicide in players. That brought me to the question “What is the correlation between concussions and suicide?’’.

While I was doing my research, I stumbled across this TED talk that discussed how CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) is seen in majority of the NFL players who take their own lives. This is caused by the constant concussions or TBI’s that football player’s encounter on a day to day basis. The video informed me that this disease is something that cannot be diagnosed while the person is living, but can be seen in the brain after they are deceased. According to the speaker, he feels as if it causes players to commit suicide due to the TBI changing their personality and also impairing their judgment. He also feels as if depression, which stems from TBI’s, plays a huge factor in the suicide rates among players as well.

This TED talk was not only interesting but it also taught me a lot. It informed me on what exactly CTE was and how it affects the brain over time. It also helped to correlate suicide in athletes and TBI’s and what they had in common. It made me want to think of new ways to try to protect athletes while they play the sport we love so much. I would highly recommend this talk to anyone who loves the game of football and wants to know more about CTE!

Citation:

Nowinski, C. (2017, November) Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chris_nowinski_can_i_have_your_brain_a_quest_for_truth_on_concussions_cte#t-618903