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Effects of Concussion on Intelligence

Incident Background:

About 5 months ago I slipped on ice and hit my head on pavement (front right temple). I had what I think may be considered as a mild concussion (loss of consciousness for 1 minute followed by heavy disorientation (amnesia?) for 7 minutes)
At that time I was very drunk and I am thinking this played a large role on why I even lost consciousness. (I am only an occasional drinker though)
I am a very healthy 28 y/o male.
At the ER the doctor used the symptomatic method for treatment, avoiding the CT scan. He also said I would not be less smart than before .
I had absolutely no symptoms, no headaches and did not notice anything different in function in any way.
I have a highly complex job that requires top notch brain capacity.

Question:

As a precaution, I would like to ask, for my own piece of mind;  [1] Is there any risk this could have caused me to become less intelligent/smart than I was prior to the concussion?
Mainly, I have been reading that the axonal fibers in the brain can actually shear or tear if enough force is exerted on the brain. [2] What kind of forces can put the axons at risk for shearing? [3] Also would someone know if axonal fibers had sheared?
And very lastly… [4] what about the possibility that a concussion such as this can actually make you smarter? (maybe activate areas of the brain previously dormant). My parents said they have noticed me behaving even more intelligently.

Sorry for the long question and thank you in advance for the reply.    

3 Responses
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Avatar universal
Caregiver, you say... "the problem with such an injury is not "shearing axons"

Can you provide a bit of info on why "shearing axons" is not a problem in such injury?

as far as swelling or bleed, I think I am less concerned with it since I would think I would have felt at least a slight discomfort of some kind if that was occurring, perhaps a headache.

Thanks!!
Helpful - 0
351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I agree with Caregiver that it is a very difficult question to answer. The force that can cause brain damage or damage the nerves cannot be quantified. Some people get symptoms by what would be considered mild injury by another person. Also people respond differently to concussion. A person may just have dizziness, or he may have loss of memory. Some become depressed and on other extreme some develop schizophrenia. However there are a considerable number who do not develop any symptoms.
You just need to wait and watch.
Take care!
Helpful - 0
144586 tn?1284666164
Because of your loss of consciousness, you should had both an MRI and an MRA.

Clearly you have asked a "how many angels are on the head of a pin" question.

That being said, the problem with such an injury is not "shearing axons, but involves both a potential bleed (slow or fast - which should have meant a scan), and swelling, which causes the impingement of microcirculation providing both oxygen and nutrients to brain cells.

Unresolved within a limited window, such swelling can lead to the death of brain cells and parts of the brain such as the pituitary and hypothalamus. The time to death of the cells is referred to as the warm ischemic time.

There is no evidence whatsoever that a concussion will make anyone smarter.

There may or may not be a degradtion in your cognition, memory and reasoning. The human brain is very resilient.
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