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Traumatic Brain Injuries:

Memory Loss and Treatment

Presenter: Nhu Quynh Nguyen

Mentor : Dr. Sutliff, Michael

Prof. Ferguson, Melissa

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Each year an estimated 1.5 million Americans sustain a TBI (CDC, 2016)

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Research Questions:

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
How do people with Traumatic Brain Injury live their lives?
Have their memory been affected?
Which treatments do the apply? Why do these treatments help people with Traumatic Brain Injury improve their memory?

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Question	Interviewee 1	Interviewee 2	Interviewee 3
Cause	Car accident	Car accident	Car accident
Memory affected	Yes Easily distracted Hard to remember numbers. Short-term memory	Yes Hard to form new information	Yes Reading comprehension
Treatments	Physical Activity Using medication Cognitive class	Physical Activity Therapy	Physical Activity Cognitive class
Type of physical activity	Aerobic Exercise Resistance training	Aerobic Exercise Resistance training	Aerobic Exercise
How does physical activity help memory?	Positive	Positive	Positive
Which is the best treatment for memory?	Cognitive class	Physical Activity	Physical Activity

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Human Brain

Our brains contain around 86 billion neurons.

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Traumatic Brain Injury- Memory Loss

There are several structures within the brain that are involved in memory, and injury to any of these parts can impair memory performance (Headway, 2022).

Sudden injury that causes damage to the brain and it will affect how the brain works

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Neuroplasticity

Neurogenesis

BDNF

brain ability to produce new neurons.

the brain's ability to modify, change, and adapt both structure and function.

Boost the production neuron.
Help the neuron grows.

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Why is exercise important for memory loss?

Boost the rate Neurogenesis
Boost the production of BDNF

Just Keep Exercising

(Liu & Nusslock, 2018)

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Physical Activity improves Memory

After running on the running wheel	Wild-type Mouse	SynRas transgenic mouse
The production of neuron	Increase	Increase
The production of new dendrite	Increase	Increase
BDNF level	Increase	The same
Object recognition performance	Increase	Increase

Research about the synRas transgenic mouse vs wild-type mouse with and without the running wheel.
The SynRas mouse has significantly decreased rates of neurogenesis.

(Lafenetre et al., 2011)

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Why Cognitive learning impacts on memories?

Boost the rate of neuroplasticity

(Collin et al., 2020.)

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What is the best way to increase the memories after the traumatic brain injury?

Aerobic Exercise vs Resistance Training

(Dunsky et al., 2017)

Participants were asked to complete the cognitive test before and after doing either 25 min of aerobic exercise or resistance exercise.

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Aerobic Exercise vs Stretch-Control Group

After 6 months exercising	Aerobic Exercise	Stretch - Control Group
Size of hippocampus	Increase	Decrease
VO2 max	Increase	Increase
BDNF level	Increase	Increase

(Erickson et al., 2011)

Participants were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise group or to a stretching control group

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Best way to exercise

to get the maximum blood flow to different parts of the brain

Before exercising

After exercising

+ looking flash board

(BBC, 2021)

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Conclusion

Exercise and cognitive training will increase neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and level of BDNF -> Increase the memory
Therefore,

Be active
Aerobic Exercise
Outdoor Exercising (Molendijk et al., 2012)
Combine cognitive training while practicing exercise

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Thank you for listening!

If you have any question, please contact me:

nhuquynhng87@gmail.com

Just Keep Practicing!

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References

Thurman, David J., et al. “Report to Congress: Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 22 Jan. 2016, https://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pubs/tbi_report_to_congress.html#:~:text=Traumatic%20brain%20injury%20(TBI)%20is,people%20are%20hospitalized%20and%20survive.
“Neuron.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuron#:~:text=A%20neuron%20or%20nerve%20cell,animals%20except%20sponges%20and%20placozoa.
MEDIAmaker. “Memory Problems after Brain Injury.” Headway, https://www.headway.org.uk/about-brain-injury/individuals/effects-of-brain-injury/memory-problems/.
“Traumatic Brain Injury | TBI.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 7 Feb. 2022, https://medlineplus.gov/traumaticbraininjury.html.
Liu, Patrick Z., and Robin Nusslock. “Exercise-Mediated Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus via BDNF.” Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol. 12, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00052.
Lafenetre, Pauline, et al. “The Beneficial Effects of Physical Activity on Impaired Adult Neurogenesis and Cognitive Performance.” Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol. 5, 12 Apr. 2011, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2011.00051.
Dunsky, Ayelet, et al. “The Effects of a Resistance vs. an Aerobic Single Session on Attention and Executive Functioning in Adults.” PLOS ONE, vol. 12, no. 6, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0179799.
Collin, Catherine, et al. “Memory. Learning, and Thinking .” How the Brain Works: The Facts Visually Explained, DK Publishing, New York, NY, 2020, pp. 136–137.
Erickson, Krik I, et al. “Exercise Training Increases Size of Hippocampus and Improves Memory.” Pnas-Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 31 Jan. 2011, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1015950108.
BBC. “This Strange Fitness Test Measures Blood Flow to Her Brain.” YouTube, YouTube, 6 Feb. 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTrrZZ8ECtY.
Molendijk, Marc L., et al. “Serum BDNF Concentrations Show Strong Seasonal Variation and Correlations with the Amount of Ambient Sunlight.” PLoS ONE, vol. 7, no. 11, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0048046.