Research inspired by soccer headers has led to fresh insights into how the brain weathers hits to the head. Photo illustration by David Madison/Getty Images hide caption
Brain injuries Brain injuries
Stories About
Brain injuries
MRI scans before and after a season of football showed brain changes in a study of high school players. groveb/Getty Images hide caption
Marines based in Okinawa, Japan, fire an M136 AT-4 rocket launcher as part of a weapons training exercise on the Kaneohe Bay Range Training Facility, in 2014. Lance Cpl. Matthew Bragg/U.S. Marines/DVIDS hide caption
U.S. Marines fire the Carl Gustav rocket system during live-fire training last October. With each firing, the shooter's brain is exposed to pulses of high pressure air emanating from the explosion that travel faster than the speed of sound. Sgt. Aaron Patterson/3rd Marine Division/DVIDS hide caption
Report To Army Finds Blast From Some Weapons May Put Shooter's Brain At Risk
Aaron Hernandez (81), of the New England Patriots, lost his helmet during this play against the New York Jets in 2011. Hernandez killed himself in 2017, and researchers found that he had had one of the most severe cases of CTE ever seen in someone his age. Elsa/Getty Images hide caption
Repeated Head Hits, Not Just Concussions, May Lead To A Type Of Chronic Brain Damage
Teens involved in contact sports were more likely to report concussions. Krista Long/Getty Images hide caption
Professional fighter Gina Mazany practices during a training session at Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts in Las Vegas. She well remembers her first concussion — which came in her first fight. "I was throwing up that night," Mazany says. Bridget Bennett for NPR hide caption
Female Athletes Are Closing The Gender Gap When It Comes To Concussions
Why Brain Scientists Are Still Obsessed With The Curious Case Of Phineas Gage
After A Stroke At 33, A Writer Relies On Journals To Piece Together Her Own Story
Charles Mayer, 30, of San Diego survived an IED attack while serving in Iraq in 2010, but has suffered from complications including PTSD. Stuart Palley for NPR hide caption
War Studies Suggest A Concussion Leaves The Brain Vulnerable To PTSD
The Gray Team with Maj. Jennifer Bell (center), who ran a concussion clinic, seen in the Helmand province of Afghanistan in 2010: Col. Michael Jaffee (from left) , Capt. James Hancock, Col. Geoffrey Ling, Lt. Col. Shean Phelps and Col. Robert Saum. Courtesy of Christian Macedonia hide caption
How A Team Of Elite Doctors Changed The Military's Stance On Brain Trauma
Nurses Katherine Malinak and Amy Young lift Louis DeMattio, a stroke patient, out of his hospital bed using a ceiling-mounted lift at the Cleveland Clinic. Dustin Franz for NPR hide caption
People With Brain Injuries Heal Faster If They Get Up And Get Moving
Patients with certain kinds of brain damage can wind up with locked-in syndrome: they may be able to think just fine, but are unable to communicate their thoughts to others. A recently published case study shows that a non-invasive brain-computer interface can help. iStockphoto hide caption
From Brain To Computer: Helping 'Locked-In' Patient Get His Thoughts Out
Researchers have only recently been able to use brain scans to detect Alzheimer's risk factors in living people. iStockphoto hide caption
The brain of former NFL star Junior Seau, who committed suicide last year, showed signs of the kind of neurodegenerative disease associated with repetitive head trauma. Elsa/Getty Images hide caption
Junior Seau, seen here playing for the New England Patriots toward the end of his career, suffered from a degenerative brain disease, scientists say. Otto Greule Jr./Getty Images hide caption
Junior Seau in 2008, when he played for the New England Patriots. Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images hide caption
In teens' developing brains, a concussion can cause more disruption. iStockphoto.com hide caption