Research Tuesdays - Concussions: lasting impact

Think a bump on the head is no big deal? Think again. A single concussion can inflict lasting cognitive damage and even elevate your chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's or dementia. It’s time to re-evaluate how we handle head injuries.

Currently, when a person experiences a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI), the precise outcome is uncertain. While some individuals recover fully, others experience long-lasting impairments that affect their motor function, cognition, and mood. These can severely impact quality of life and may worsen over time.

In the face of these sobering realities, researchers at the University of Adelaide are searching for practical solutions. By investigating our brains’ complex mechanisms, they hope to understand why some individuals face higher risks post-injury. Their mission is twofold: to arm clinicians with the predictive tools needed to forecast patient outcomes with greater accuracy and to spearhead the development of more effective and timely treatments.

Join us this April to learn about their breakthroughs in brain injury research.

The presenter

Associate Professor Lyndsey Collins-Praino leads the Cognition, Aging and Neurodegenerative Disease Lab in the School of Biomedicine at the University of Adelaide. She is a 2016 South Australia Tall Poppy and has obtained over $8 million in competitive research funding over the past five years alone, including grants from the Medical Research Future Fund, Australian Research Council and multiple philanthropic bodies.