What makes this video special is that he has the animations so you get a sense of what is going inside the skull when the brain is doing all the bouncing around, but he also zooms in and out from the whole brain to parts to neurons (brain cells) to even smaller internal parts of neurons called microtubules.

So when you see pictures of someone falling off their bike without a helmet or heading a soccer ball or getting head-checked in hockey (you don't DO any of those things, do you?? ;-), imagine what's going on inside their skull and re-play for yourself the sound of microtubules snapping (gives me the heebie-jeebies every time I hear it!)

Concussions - Seeing the Invisible Injury from Paul F Kelly on Vimeo.

(If your internet connection isn't very fast or if you don't see movement of the brain when Paul talks about it in the video, let it load first or play through and then play with it -- that will get rid of the dealys that prevent you seeing as it was meant to be seen!)

The following is a series of podcasts titled, The Write Hemisphere, by Greg Goldberg. The series will feature a new episode each week based on the diary that Greg kept after he suffered a traumatic brain injury, and throughout his path to recovery.

Greg Goldberg is a Brain Injury Survivor, Inspirational Speaker and author. After suffering a car crash in 1998, Greg spent nearly a month in a coma, followed by a long journey of recovery. Life became fraught with challenges; initially struggling with impulsiveness, bouts of anger and fatigue. However, as the year’s progressed, Greg learned to adapt to his limitations and become proactive in managing and structuring his life so he can enjoy it to the fullest. Today, Greg is upbeat, cheerful and full of zest for life. He uses is experience of living with a brain injury to fuel his compassion and passion to help others with similar experiences. Greg currently volunteers with the Victoria Literacy Program teaching adults how to read. In addition, a portion of proceeds from the sales of his book “The Organ of Intelligence” go to Brain Injury associations and support group across Canada.

To watch his first entry of this video story, go to The Write Hemiphere

This entry is by his wife, talking about her experience of the day Greg was injured.

But don't stop there -- there are 7 entries so far --

It focuses mostly on the developing brains of children, but since our brains are all based on the same principles, you can watch these and still think about (or comment or ask!!) about how it applies to adults -- with or without identified brain injuries.

I'll post links to the videos to help create a little "self-study" about the brain. Do they tell you all you need to know? Not by a long shot -- but they are very well-done introductions to important things about brains and they only last a few minutes per video -- they fit in everyone's schedule! ;-)

Here's the introduction to the series -- an overview of what's coming up (<2.5 minutes):

And, since I'm sure you'll want another taste right away, ;-) part 2 is about Plasticity of the brain and how a brain's "architecture" is put together (about 4 minutes). 

For more about plasticity -- the ability of the brain to change itself-- you might enjoy:

The Brain that Changes Itself (the link is an excerpt from a book by Norman Doidge)

Watch a CBC documentary about the brain's plasticity (45 minutes) or listen to a CBC Radio program about brain plasticity (25 minutes)

Brain Plasticity Overview: Posit Science

BIST had its first Annual Walk, Run or Roll on the 24th of September 2011 and it was a tremendous success!  The event was sold out several weeks before the event and there was a terrific crowd assembled on Saturday morning.  Ben Mulroney gave heart felt remarks about brain injury as he has a friend who is living with brain injury.

Team Possibilities was comprised of Tom and Andrea Finlayson, Deb Gallagher and Paula Cassin.

Congratulations also to Possibilities alumni -- Dan Harren and Melanie Hay for a terrific showing!

Mark your calendars for Saturday 22 September 2012 for the next opportunity. Oh and by the way - BIST is looking for ideas on what to call the new run.  Have any ideas -- send them along to info@bist.ca

Congratulations to the BIST organizers on a job well done!

Treasure of Bell Island- A video game for the treatment of many common impairments often experienced by people with mTBI

We are interested in finding people with mTBI who might want to give this game a try and give us feedback! We need your help!!

IRB Study # A-16123i
Cognitive Motor Therapy Applications Using Video Game Platform
PI: Sheryl Flynn PT, PhD

Description: The purpose of this research study is to learn more about how to design and develop video games for rehabilitation. The reason for collecting this information is to find ways to improve rehabilitation outcomes for specific groups of patients and their families.

Information from focus groups (small group discussions about games), usability trials of games, and product testing will be used to develop better video games that can be used for rehabilitation purposes.

Approximately 300 participants will be enrolled in this project.

Contact:

Sheryl Flynn PT, PhD 310-913-5707, sheryl at bluemarblegameco.com OR

Bonnie Kennedy PhD, OTR/L at 626-607-7391, bonnielk at bluemarblegameco.com

(Use @ instead of "at" for the email addresses, right? ;-)

Requirements: We are looking for 4 specific groups of people:

1. people with disability who are undergoing rehabilitation,
2. people with disability who have received rehabilitation in the past,
3. rehabilitation specialists (PTs, OTs, Speech, Psych, Physicians) and
4. family/caregivers, friends of people with disabilities

The discussion in the focus group will be in English

Time Commitment: approximately 2 hours

Compensation: Each participant will receive $50.00 for their participation

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Respectfully,

Sheryl Flynn PT, PhD

I'll share that, after 20-something years working in brain injury, this was an intensely painful film for me to watch.

If you aren't personally familiar with brain injury, it's worth every minute - you will learn more than any book can teach you. If you are, it will hurt, but will validate the pain and frustration you may have experienced for yourself.

I happened to find YouTube episodes that let you watch the movie 10 min at a time. This is the first of 10 or so parts. You need to watch them all -- or find a dvd of the movie.

____________________________________________________________

So I was doing this exercise in my theatre class where they wanted us to run into each other with our eyes closed, sounds easy enough, a "trust exercise"...but quickly I was freaking out.

I couldn't stand it, and thought I couldn't do it (even though I did eventually) but it wasn't because I am scared of the dark, it was because i just kept thinking Brain Injury Brain Injury Brain Injury!

I was wondering if anyone else has this happen to them? Like they are thinking about getting a brain injury (or thier kids getting one) more than ever because of the work we do. I found this TED TALK where the woman delivering the speech, Dr. Kim Gorgens talks about protecting kids against brain injury, and gives some great links for people interested in that area of study, but also talks about her own fears for her son....in a kind of funny kind of serious way that reminded me of my own anxiety around it.

Do you think a lot about getting brain injuries or no more than you did before living or working in this area? What do you do to stop being anxious or protect yourself? Check out the link and tell me what you think, its a good one!

Protecting the Brain Against Concussion

This is a little longer video from the TED group, so just over 20 minutes, but worth every minute. And don't you dare multi-task! Listen to this woman, Aimee Mullins, talk about what "disability" means -- and what it could mean...

What did you think?

I can't emphasize enough how her message resonates with why I created Possibilities and how much I believe we need to Listen to her call for accepting adversity, adapting to it, and acknowledging ourselves as having become more "us" for having met it with power and grace.

Please share how you have met adversity - what expectations did you carry into it, what were the expectations of people around you, and who did you become because of it?

Or, if you know someone with a "disability", what expectations do you bring with you? Which thesaurus have you been reading? (Don't get that one? Go back to the video, you skipped it! ;-) What have you done to help them discover how to adapt to the challenge in front of them? What have they taught you about how to move through life's adversities and benefit from them?

Looking forward to your Stories...

It's not a video of a brain -- that would be gruesome! -- but it's definitely food for thought.

This golf ball was traveling at 150 miles per hour when it hit a steel plate.

Notice both stages -- (1) the impact and (2) the bounce-back.

So, what's this got to do with brains?

Imagine someone driving at highway speeds (60-70 miles per hour? 100-120 km per hour?)

Then imagine what happens if their head hits the steel of the car in any way. (That's what seatbelts are made to prevent! Now you know why!!)

Then imagine what happens if the head hits something else hard -- like the steering wheel or the seat in front of them.

Still not so good even though the brain has the skull and cerebro-spinal fluid around it for protection.

Now imagine what happens if the brain inside the head doesn't hit the car or something in the car, but just moves forward that fast, hits the inside of the bony skull, then bounces back like that image in the video.

Don't think so? Remember that the brain is not solid -- it's soft, something like the consistency of soft tofu.

Now imagine that last one again --

And wear your seatbelt and drive gently.

Real Question?

Is there such a thing?

A question is only an inquiry based on observation or belief.

That means we want to get behind the question itself to find out...