Because the brain is so important to our health,

damage to the brain can cause severe impairment.

By studying brain damage, we can get a better

understanding of how the brain works, and

also come up with ways to treat certain types

of damage.

Let’s take a look at some causes of brain

damage now.

The primary types of brain damage include

tumors, cerebrovascular disorders, closed-head

injuries, brain infections, neurotoxins, and

genetic factors.

Looking at tumors first, we discussed the

basics surrounding cancer and tumor development

in the biochemistry series, so check out that

tutorial if you need a refresher on what cancer is.

A common type of brain tumor is a meningioma,

which is found between the meninges of the brain.

These are encapsulated, or contained within

their own membrane, and therefore benign.

Meningiomas can be surgically removed, but

other tumors are infiltrating, which means

that they are able to grow through surrounding tissue.

These tend to be malignant and difficult to remove.

The most common cerebrovascular disorder is

commonly referred to as a stroke.

There are two types of strokes, a cerebral

hemorrhage and a cerebral ischemia.

The first of these occurs when a blood vessel

in the brain ruptures, allowing blood to seep

into neural tissue and damage it.

The second occurs when blood supply to a part

of the brain is disrupted.

This can be due to a plug or a block in a

small vessel, and this situation is called

thrombosis, or an embolism if the block is

transported from a larger vessel.

This can also arise due to arteriosclerosis,

where blood vessel walls become thicker and

channels narrow until blockage occurs.

When neurons are deprived of blood, they release

excessive amounts of glutamate, which will

overactivate receptors in postsynaptic neurons.

This will cascade, and can also trigger events

that kill neurons, which is a process called

excitotoxicity.

Closed-head injuries result largely from blunt

force being applied to the head.

A hard hit can produce a contusion, which

involves damage to the circulatory system

in the brain, resulting in internal hemorrhaging

and a hematoma, which is essentially a bruise.

This is due to the brain forcibly impacting the skull.

Concussions are similar except that there

is less long-term damage, but people who experience

frequent concussions like boxers and football

players experience a cumulative effect that

eventually results in huge problems.

Pathogens can infect the brain just like any

other part of the body, and the resulting

inflammation is called encephalitis.

These infections can be bacterial or viral.

If bacterial, they can lead to cerebral abscesses,

which are pockets of pus, or meningitis, which

is a potentially fatal inflammation of the meninges.

If viral, the pathogen may have an affinity

for neural tissue, such as with rabies, or

no particular affinity, such as with the mumps,

but attack neural tissue all the same.

We will get a closer look at these and many

others in the upcoming course on pathology

and infectious diseases.

Next with neurotoxins, these are toxic substances

that enter general circulation from the GI

tract, lungs, or skin.

These include mercury or lead, which can accumulate

in the brain and cause significant damage,

resulting in psychosis.

There can even be endogenous neurotoxins,

meaning they originate in the body, in the

form of certain antibodies.

And lastly, damage can be of a genetic origin.

Certain recessive genes can be passed on that

result in neurological or psychiatric disorders,

and other disorders can occur simply due to

accidents during fertilization or embryonic

development.

Down syndrome is an example of such a disorder,

where an extra copy of chromosome twenty-one

is produced in the egg, which causes a variety

of complications.

Brain damage can result in a variety of neurological

disorders ranging from epilepsy to Alzheimer’s,

and these will also be discussed at great

length in the pathology course.

For now, let’s stick to brain function and

examine some ways that the brain can respond

to brain damage in order to resume proper function.

These can be collectively referred to as neuroplasticity,

which refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize

itself to form new neural connections so as

to compensate for injury and disease.

Let’s go over four such responses now.

These will be degeneration, regeneration,

reorganization, and recovery.

Beginning with neural degeneration, this is

the deterioration and death of a neuron.

While this can be a symptom of disease, this

can also be employed in normal brain development.

When an axon is severed, this is called axotomy.

As a result, there will be anterograde degeneration,

which is deterioration of the remaining portion

that extends towards the synapse.

This is quite fast, as this section of the

axon is now cut off from the cell body, so

metabolism is impossible.

There will also be retrograde deterioration,

which involves deterioration in the other

direction towards the cell body, and this

will take a bit longer, though it can be aided

by apoptosis.

Sometimes this effect can spread to adjacent

neurons, and this is called transneuronal

degeneration.

Then there is the opposite process, neural regeneration.

This is tougher for mammals than for other

animals, and almost never occurs in the central

nervous system, but it happens sometimes in

the peripheral nervous system.

This is because axonal damage can occur without

severing the Schwann cells, so some regeneration

can often result in the neurons regaining

the ability to transmit information to their targets.

If Schwann cells are damaged, this becomes

less and less feasible and axons can regenerate

to reach incorrect targets or no target at all.

By contrast, neural reorganization occurs

when an axon is severed and a nearby neuron

exhibits collateral sprouting, allowing new

axon terminals to synapse with the neuron

that the first neuron can no longer synapse with.

This strategy allows the brain to redirect

traffic, so to speak, in the event of localized

brain damage.

Lastly, we can sometimes see complete recovery

of function after damage to the central nervous

system, although this remains poorly understood.

Neuroplasticity is an exciting phenomenon,

and current studies are helping us determine

ways to treat damage to the central nervous

system in humans, as well as innovate treatments

for things like Parkinson’s disease.

We are examining possibilities surrounding

neurotransplantation, and other such cutting

edge technologies that will help us treat

spinal injury, phantom limbs, and other conditions.

But before we get to that, let’s dive into

some cognitive functions so that we can get

a better understanding of human psychology

from a biological standpoint.

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