Traumatic Brain Injury & Concussion

Integrative Neuroscience Approach to Trauma

The PranaMind integrative neuroscience approach is a framework based on a thorough understanding of the profound neurological, biological, psychological, and social effects trauma has on you. It shifts the focus from a deficit-based mindset to a strength-based mindset. Instead of looking at you as “a victim” or “damaged,” PranaMind views you as a survivor with an emphasis on “what you can do” and not on what you cannot do.  

Through a two-prong integrative neuroscience approach to treating trauma, PranaMind helps you resolve symptoms related to emotional distress, thinking difficulties, social challenges, behavioral problems, and physical discomfort. 

If you are overwhelmed by raw emotions with weak coping skills, neurofeedback therapy will modulate your brain patterns and improve emotional regulation. Neurofeedback therapy is used to help you identify, challenge, and overcome your dysfunctional thoughts, behaviors and emotions by relieving affective and physiological stress.  

If your thoughts are based on cognitive distortions that influence your feelings and behaviors. The approach will be centered on your current thoughts and situations that cause you distress to develop new cognitions needed for positive future actions. With these new cognitions you can develop new cognitive insights and learn new strategies to cope and eliminate your emotional and mental distress. It is also possible that you can benefit from a mix of both approaches.

Trauma Brain Injury

Brain injury can occur in many ways. Traumatic brain injuries typically result from accidents in which the head strikes an object. This is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. However, other brain injuries, such as those caused by insufficient oxygen, poisoning, or infection, can cause similar deficits.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) is characterized by one or more of the following symptoms:

  • A brief loss of consciousness
  • Loss of memory immediately before or after the injury
  • Any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident
  • Focal neurological deficits

Most traumatic brain injuries result in widespread damage to the brain because the brain ricochets inside the skull during the impact of an accident tearing the nerve cells from one another. The brain stem, limbic lobe, temporal lobe, and frontal lobe are particularly vulnerable to this because of their location near bony protrusions.

The brain stem regulates basic arousal and regulatory functions. It is involved in attention and short-term memory. Trauma to this area can lead to disorientation, frustration, and anger. The limbic lobes regulates emotions. Connected to the limbic system are the temporal lobes, which are involved in many cognitive skills such as memory and language. Injury here can result in altered personality, auditory and visual processing difficulties, disturbances of language, and impaired long-term memory. The frontal lobes are involved in many cognitive functions and are considered our emotional and personality control center. Damage to these areas can result in decreased judgment and increased impulsivity.

Concussion

A concussion is a traumatic brain injury that affects your brain function.

  • Concussions are usually caused by a blow to the head. Violently shaking of the head and upper body also can cause concussions.
  • Some concussions cause you to lose consciousness, but most do not.
  • Falls are the most common cause of concussion. Concussions are also common if you play a contact sport, such as football or soccer. Most people usually recover fully after a concussion.

Concussion Symptoms

Physical signs and symptoms of a concussion may include:

  • Headache
  • Ringing in the ears
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Fatigue or drowsiness
  • Blurry vision

You may have some symptoms of concussions immediately, and some can occur for days after the injury, such as:

  • Confusion or feeling as if in a fog
  • Concentration and memory complaints
  • Irritability and other personality changes
  • Sensitivity to light and noise
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Psychological adjustment problems and depression
  • Disorders of taste and smell

Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury & Concussion at PranaMind

PranaMind uses research-proven Neurofeedback Therapy (NFBT) to help improve brainwave activity. NFBT has been shown to be helpful for treating neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injury, sleep disorders, migraines, ADHD, anxiety, stress, and other conditions related to the brain.

After a brain injury, your brain waves can be negatively changed. NFBT enables a PranaMind neurospecialist to determine which brain waves are changed and then work with you to bring the brainwave rhythms back to normal. 

NFBT offers real-time information about changes in the brain’s electrical activity. Every half-second, the brain activity is recorded and compared to targeted goals for change. When your brain meets the targeted goal, you get a signal and a reward. If your brain fails to meet the goal you do not. Your brain “learns” to improve its activity when brain waves are within the normal range. Neurofeedback from your brain leads to adjustments in the brain waves; in other words, the brain learns to function in its best range. This allows your brain to reshape networks after a concussion or traumatic brain injury.