Week 4 - Concussion

Question 1

What is the definition of concussion?

Answer 1

A medical syndrome characterised by the immediate and transient post-traumatic impairment of neural function, such as altered consciousness, vision or equilibrium

Any trauma induced alteration in mental status that may or may not include a loss of consciousness

Question 2

What is sports related concussion? (SRC)

Answer 2

SRC typically results in the rapid onset of short-lived impairment of neurological function that resolves spontaneously. However, in some cases, signs and symptoms evolve over a number of minutes to hours

SRC may result in neuropathological changes, but the acute clinical signs and symptoms largely reflect a functional disturbance rather than a structural injury and, as such, no abnormality is seen on standard structural neuroimaging studies

Question 3

What type of motion is most likely to cause concussion?

Answer 3

Linear & rotational acceleration are the two components that occur in nearly every instance of concussion

Question 4

What are the 3 types of moduli and how do they affect the brain?

Answer 4

1. Young’s modulus - measures the resistance of a solid to a change in its length
2. Shear modulus - measures the resistance to motion of the planes within a solid parallel to each other
3. Bulk modulus - measures the resistance of solids or liquids to changes in their volume

Shear modulus of brain tissue is at least several orders of magnitude lower than the bulk modulus of brain tissue

This means the you can compress the brain quite well, but it’s the shear force that causes the problem