Brain injury patients 'can fix themselves'RSS Feed

Following a brain injury it appears that the brain has an uncanny ability to reboot itself like a computer, scientists claim.

A team from Hobart's Menzies Research Institute in Australia found that cells in one part of the brain are capable of growing in the injured part.

"Our data suggests that the cerebral cortex ... is capable of significant remodelling following injury," according to senior research fellow Dr Tracey Dickson.

The team focused on two types of neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain - pyramidal neurons and interneurons.

Pyramidal neurons regenerate into the site of the injury, whereas interneurons reorganise their processes away from the injury, Menzies PhD student Catherine Blizzard said.

Neurons, she said, "have an unappreciated capacity for remodelling away from the actual injury, and that these neurons are attempting to rewire the brain following an injury."

The news comes as hope to sufferers of brain injury, who could benefit from therapies that exploit the brain's self-healing ability.

Meanwhile, music therapy was recently found to help brain injury patients recover some motor skills.

News brought to you by Serious Law, specialists in traumatic brain injury

Posted by John Sherrington

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