What Happens During a Concussion?
When someone asks “What happens during a concussion?”, they’re really referring to a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI); a complex biochemical and mechanical event in the brain. Though called “mild,” concussions are no joke: they represent profound disruptions in brain function, even when common post-concussion imaging (e.g., MRI, CT scans) appear normal.
So what really happens during a concussion? A concussion is induced by a direct blow to the head or body, or by rapid acceleration or deceleration, which causes the brain to jostle inside the skull. This movement applies rotational and angular forces, damaging delicate neural structures, even if there’s no visible bleeding or fracture on imaging. These shear forces can stretch or tear axons (the long extensions of neurons) leading to disrupted synaptic transmission and a series of cellular dysfunction.
The pathophysiology of concussion involves biomechanical forces that disrupt neural membranes, causing a cascade of ionic shifts, metabolic dysfunction, and neuroinflammation.
Following the impact, injured neurons release excess potassium and glutamate, triggering calcium influx and overwhelming ion pumps. Neurons desperately demand ATP to restore central nervous system balance, yet blood flow may drop, creating a dangerous neuro‑metabolic mismatch that harms mitochondria and fuels metabolic crisis.
Additionally, neuroinflammation kicks in: microglia release cytokines, the blood–brain barrier may become impaired, and even the gut–brain axis can be disrupted, showing how concussions may ripple through body systems. This entire sequence, the initial mechanical insult followed by secondary neurotoxic cascades, is the core of concussion pathophysiology. So now that you know what happens during a concussion, what does it result in?
This results in an energy crisis and temporary neuronal dysfunction, even without structural brain damage. Understanding this vulnerability is crucial, especially when managing activity levels and recovery timelines to prevent re-injury.
Common signs & symptoms of TBI
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), particularly concussions, can manifest through a wide array of symptoms affecting physical, cognitive, emotional, and sensory domains.
Physically, individuals may experience headaches (reported in up to 90% of cases) along with dizziness, nausea, fatigue, blurred or double vision, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light or noise, and problems with balance. Cognitively and behaviorally, concussions can cause confusion, slowed thinking, trouble concentrating, memory deficits, mental fog, delayed reaction time, slurred speech, and even brief episodes of amnesia.
Emotionally, affected individuals may feel irritable, anxious, sad, or depressed and may also undergo mood swings, frustration, or changes in sleep patterns such as insomnia or hypersomnia.
These symptoms may appear immediately after the injury or develop over hours or days, often peaking within the first few days. While most concussions resolve within 10 days to three weeks, some individuals develop post-concussion syndrome, with symptoms that persist for weeks, months or even years.
Concussions represent 70–90% of all treated TBIs, making them the most common yet frequently under-reported form of brain injury.
Importantly, diagnosis does not require loss of consciousness or amnesia, as many concussions occur without a complete blackout. Most people recover within one to three months, but recovery is highly individual, and lingering symptoms are not uncommon.
A significant risk arises when a second concussion occurs before full recovery from the first, leading to Second Impact Syndrome, an often fatal complication involving rapid brain swelling due to impaired cerebral vascular regulation.
Repetitive concussions also carry long-term risks such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease. Diagnosis relies on clinical tools like SCAT‑5, symptom tracking, and close monitoring, as no imaging test or blood marker can definitively confirm a concussion.
However, real-time brainwave neuroimaging, such as a quantitative EEG (QEEG), can significantly help in the treatment of head injury. QEEG can identify brainwave activity that is functioning outside of normal and expected ranges.
When dysregulation is present in areas of the brain that are correlated with a person’s symptoms, such as difficulty finding words, it provides a “roadmap” to begin to help the person regain function in those injured brain areas.
How Can Arizona Center for Neurofeedback Help?
Now that you know what happens during a concussion, our neurofeedback therapy offers a promising approach in supporting recovery from traumatic brain injury. By training the brain to self-regulate and restore optimal neural function, neurofeedback directly addresses the dysregulated brainwave activity that often follows a concussion.
Neurofeedback can help reduce symptoms such as cognitive fog, emotional instability, sleep disturbances, and headaches.
By enhancing neural efficiency and promoting neuroplasticity, neurofeedback supports recovery from the functional disruptions caused by concussions. This makes it a valuable non-invasive therapeutic option for individuals struggling with prolonged or difficult recovery from their brain injury.
When a person has sustained multiple head injuries, even months or years before their most recent, it is especially helpful to obtain proper evaluation using real-time neuro-imaging such as a quantitative EEG (QEEG).
At the Arizona Center for Neurofeedback, we use QEEG-guided protocols to ensure we accurately assess and treat the specific impact of your head injury. We also establish ongoing symptom tracking to target the most important symptoms affecting your physical, cognitive, emotional, and sensory functioning & recovery.
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