I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Krizman talk about her research, “Auditory biological marker of concussion in children.” She explained that there is currently no single objective test to diagnose a concussion. Instead, doctors usually rely on symptoms and behavioral tests, which are not always accurate. The introduction of the Frequency Following Response (FFR), which measures how the brain processes sound, became a major step in improving concussion diagnosis. It shows that after an injury, the brain becomes worse at tracking the pitch of speech sounds, which is important for the concentration.
While exploring neuroscience research, I came across an article “Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems” by Lydia Denworth, which discusses how concussions can have long-term consequences. It explains that many people who experience a head injury do not realize that they might have a concussion and therefore do not seek medical help, which can lead to problems later in life.
For instance, when I once fell from a small height and hit my head, I did not think I might have a concussion. However, I experienced symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, and sleepiness. I assumed that it would go away on its own and did not go to the hospital. Many people around the world react in the same way after a head injury, believing that it is not serious enough to require medical attention.
About a year and a half later, I began experiencing sleep problems, persistent severe headaches, and difficulty concentrating. These symptoms are supported by the research discussed in the article. When I eventually went to the hospital because of my chronic headaches, doctors were unable to determine the cause even after conducting multiple tests. Traditional brain imaging looked completely normal. Instead, doctors attributed everything to stress, academic overload, and lack of sleep. This suggests that concussions may affect how the brain functions before we can see any structural damage, and it is important to monitor a person’s condition months and even years after a head injury, as the consequences may be long-term.
The best way to diagnose whether someone has a concussion is to perform tests immediately after the injury. Since there is still no definitive test that can reliably diagnose a concussion long after the initial trauma, doctors may struggle to identify the cause of ongoing symptoms. These symptoms are subjective, such as feeling “off,” having trouble concentrating, or reacting more slowly.
Doctors may sometimes misunderstand or misdiagnosed these issues because they are used to old diagnostic approaches. This can be confirmed by my own experience, where my chronic and severe headaches were attributed to stress or vitamin deficiencies. Additionally, the research mentioned that in 2024 scientists introduced a new diagnostic framework called the CBI-M model. It includes clinical symptoms (C), blood-based biomarkers (B), imaging (I), and modifiers (M). This model may help more accurately identify concussion symptoms and guide appropriate treatment by releasing specific proteins into the bloodstream after brain injury. These blood-based biomarkers may help detect brain damage even when imaging results appear normal.
These findings suggest that concussions may influence brain function in ways that are not immediately visible through traditional medical tests, which makes blood-based biomarkers and FFR irreplaceable for improving diagnosis.
References:
Denworth, Lydia. “Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems.” Scientific American. November 19, 2024.
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