3 Articles Dealing With The Effects Of Concussion

These three articles are being republished to help with explaining what has been in the news:   Secretary Clinton’s past health issues (a severe concussion) and it is once again football season.    These articles should be useful to help students apply and understand the neuroscience sections of the chapters in the text book.

Article #1

Concussion – Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment of Concussion

SOURCE

New York Times (Wellness/Health section)

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/concussion/overview.html

(shortened URL)   http://tinyurl.com/kmsdddy

Article #2    Hard-Knock Lessons From the Concussion Files

SOURCE

New York Times, February 13, 2007, by Jane Brody

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/health/13brod.html

Article #3   Concussions Continue to Plague Retired NFL Players

Video:  http://ti.me/1FiRKk4

SOURCE

Time Magazine, May 18, 2015, by Alice Park

LINK TO RESOURCE

http://time.com/3863914/concussions-memory-retired-nfl-players/?xid=emailshare

(shortened URL)  http://tinyurl.com/kl9xjpg

DISCUSSION

Concussions are in the news again and seemingly every week.  Sports figures  (especially football players) who have had multiple concussions appear to develop dementia early on, personality changes, and have higher rates of suicide.  Even those in high school and college who stopped playing after graduation have a higher rate of problems in their middle adulthood.   There is a focus now on other sports, young players in football (Pop Warner teams), bicycle riders, elderly who fall, childhood injuries and so on.  Yet there is a great deal of resistance in the populace to admitting the dangers, and certainly the NFL is quite guilty of this.   These three articles focus on the concussion data and the accompanying Website and App of the Week are coordinated with these articles for a complete view of the issue.

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• What is a concussion?
•How does a concussion
•What are the physical symptoms?  Psychological symptoms?
•What are the short term effects?
•What are the long term effects?
•What treatments are helpful?
•Why is this a topic for Psychologists?
•What is the motivation in the denial of the problems of concussion?