Neuroplasticity
The site where adjacent neurons communicate by transmitting neural signals to one another
What is a synapse?
A disorder that can involve any part of the nervous system, such as the brain, spinal cord or peripheral nervous system
What is a neurological disorder?
This occurs when blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted and is the most common cause of an ABI
What is a stroke?
Any type of brain damage or disorder that impairs the normal functioning of the brain, temporarily or permanently
What is a brain injury?
Commonly described as a 'mild' brain injury because it is usually not life-threatening
What is a concussion?
This plasticity occurs largely during development, in response to environmental experience that is ordinarily expected
What is experience-expectant plasticity?
This neurological disorder involves recurrent, spontaneous seizures
What is epilepsy?
Over 85% of all strokes are this type
What is an ischaemic stroke?
An ABI differs from these disorders, such as autism and ADHD, that a person is born with
What are neurodevelopmental disorders?
A progressive brain degeneration and fatal condition thought to be caused by repeated blows to the head
What is CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy)?
This plasticity has no sensitive or critical period, so it is not time-dependent
What is experience-dependent plasticity?
Epilepsy is considered this type of disorder because it has many different causes, seizure types and levels of severity
What is a spectrum disorder?
A language disorder resulting from an acquired brain injury to an area responsible for language production or processing
What is aphasia?
This type of onset occurs when the brain injury happens abruptly
What is sudden onset?
Currently the only way to diagnose CTE
What is an autopsy?
The production or 'birth' of new neurons
What is neurogenesis?
In at least half of all epilepsy cases the cause is this, meaning it is unknown
What is idiopathic?
Speech is laboured and hesitant, in very short sentences, after damage to the left hemisphere of the frontal lobe
What is Broca's aphasia?
This type of onset occurs when the brain injury gradually develops over time
What is insidious onset?
The abnormal build-up of this protein interferes with the functioning of neurons
What is tau?
When functions performed by certain brain areas are moved to other undamaged areas to compensate, this is called this
What is reassignment of function?
This test of the brain's electrical activity, along with CT and MRI scans, often helps diagnose epilepsy
What is an EEG?
Speech is fluent but makes no sense, after damage to an area in the temporal lobe of the left hemisphere
What is Wernicke's aphasia?
Injury to the forward part of the frontal lobes (prefrontal cortex) brings an unusual collection of these three types of changes
What are biological, psychological and social changes?
The link between concussion and CTE is based on this level of evidence
What is low-level evidence?