Science of a Brain Injury

What is it about oxygen that is so essential to our brain?

Like every organ in our body, oxygen allows the body to breakdown complex sugar partials call glucose. It is glucose that provides energy to individual brain cells. Amazingly, the brain uses 1/5th of a human’s total oxygen supply. When a brain cell is denied this vital oxygen glucose is unable to be broken down. This impacts the brains ability to transfer electrochemical pulses from brain cell to brain cell. When this occurs brain cells die within 90 seconds or more because they lack the vital oxygen necessary to break down glucose.

The death of brain cells creates numerous problems and complications for the injured individual. The brains ability to produce and maintain neurotransmitters is compromised. Neurotransmitters allow individual brain cells to communicate and transfer information from one brain cell to the next. Neurotransmitters provide a number of vital functions including mood, pain, pleasure, and memory.

Automobile accidents are a leading cause of traumatic brain injury. Generally the brain is subjected to some sort of traumatic event where it is struck by an external force. This trauma results in a “Acute Hemorrhage” which means active bleeding. As a result of the loss of blood brain cells are denied vital oxygen and a brain injury results.