TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Clifford Robbins: What happens when you have a concussion?

Unscramble the Blue Letters

Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities reevcie between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated, and lies in how the brain resndops when something strikes it. The brain is made of soft fatty tissue, with a consistency something like jello. Inside its protective membranes and the skull's hard casing, this dcealite organ is usually well-shielded. But a sudden jolt can make the brain shift and bump against the skull's hard interior, and unlike jello, the brain's tissue isn't uniform. It's made of a vast nrwotek of 90 billion neurons, which relay signals through their long axons to communicate throughout the brain and control our bodies. This spindly structure makes them very fragile so that when impacted, neurons will stretch and even tear. That not only disrupts their ability to communicate but as destroyed axons begin to degenerate, they also release toxins causing the dtaeh of other neurons, too. This combination of eenvts causes a concussion. The damage can mfensait in many different ways including blackout, hdaechae, brlury vision, balance problems, altered mood and behavior, problems with mmeroy, thinking, and sleeping, and the osent of anxiety and diessropen. Every brain is different, which eixpanls why people's experiences of concussions vary so widely. Luckily, the majority of concussions flluy heal and symptoms disappear within a matter of days or weeks. Lots of rest and a gradual rtreun to activity allows the biran to heal itself. On the subject of rest, many people have heard that you're not supposed to sleep shortly after receiving a concussion because you might slip into a coma. That's a myth. So long as doctors aren't concerned there may also be a more servee brain injury, like a brain beled, there's no documented problem with going to sleep after a concussion. Sometimes, victims of concussion can experience something called post-concussion sormdnye, or PCS. ppeloe with PCS may experience constant hacedaehs, learning dueifciftils, and beaaohirvl symptoms that even affect their personal rialitsehpnos for months or years after the injury. Trying to play through a concussion, even for only a few mnuties, or returning to storps too soon after a ccusoiosnn, makes it more likely to develop PCS. In some csaes, a concussion can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms unfold slowly over time. That's often true of sbsciuuvcsone impacts which result from lower impact jolts to the head than those that cause concussions. This category of injury doesn't cause noticable symptoms right away, but can lead to severe dvgteienerae brain diseases over time if it happens repeatedly. Take sccoer players, who are known for redtpeealy heading soccer balls. Using a technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging, we're beginning to find out what effect that has on the brain. This method allows scientists to find large axon bundles and see how milder blows might alter them structurally. In 2013, researchers using this technique discovered that ahteelts who had headed the ball most, about 1,800 times a year, had deamgad the structural integrity of their axon bundles. The damage was similar to how a rope will fail when the iididuanvl fibers start to fray. Those players also performed worse on short-term memory tests, so even though no one suffered full-blown concussions, these subconcussive hits added up to measurable damage over time. In fact, rsearcrehes know that an overload of subconcussive hits is linked to a degenerative brain disease known as cnorhic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. People with CTE suffer from changes in their mood and behavior that begin appearing in their 30s or 40s followed by problems with thinking and memory that can, in some cases, even result in dementia. The culprit is a protein called tau. Usually, tau proteins support tiny tubes inside our axnos called microtubules. It's thought that raepeetd subconcussive hits damage the microtubules, causing the tau proteins to dislodge and clmup together. The cmpuls disrupt transport and communication along the neuron and dvrie the breakdown of connections within the brain. Once the tau proteins start clumping together, they cause more clumps to form and continue to spread throughout the brain, even after head impacts have stopped. The data show that at least among football players, between 50 and 80% of csicnoosuns go unreported and untreated. Sometimes that's because it's hard to tell a concussion has occurred in the first place. But it's also often due to pressure or a desire to keep going despite the fact that something's wrong. This doesn't just undermine recovery. It's also dgoreauns. Our brains aren't inncivlibe. They still need us to shield them from harm and help them undo daamge once it's been done.

Open Cloze

Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities _______ between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated, and lies in how the brain ________ when something strikes it. The brain is made of soft fatty tissue, with a consistency something like jello. Inside its protective membranes and the skull's hard casing, this ________ organ is usually well-shielded. But a sudden jolt can make the brain shift and bump against the skull's hard interior, and unlike jello, the brain's tissue isn't uniform. It's made of a vast _______ of 90 billion neurons, which relay signals through their long axons to communicate throughout the brain and control our bodies. This spindly structure makes them very fragile so that when impacted, neurons will stretch and even tear. That not only disrupts their ability to communicate but as destroyed axons begin to degenerate, they also release toxins causing the _____ of other neurons, too. This combination of ______ causes a concussion. The damage can ________ in many different ways including blackout, ________, ______ vision, balance problems, altered mood and behavior, problems with ______, thinking, and sleeping, and the _____ of anxiety and __________. Every brain is different, which ________ why people's experiences of concussions vary so widely. Luckily, the majority of concussions _____ heal and symptoms disappear within a matter of days or weeks. Lots of rest and a gradual ______ to activity allows the _____ to heal itself. On the subject of rest, many people have heard that you're not supposed to sleep shortly after receiving a concussion because you might slip into a coma. That's a myth. So long as doctors aren't concerned there may also be a more ______ brain injury, like a brain _____, there's no documented problem with going to sleep after a concussion. Sometimes, victims of concussion can experience something called post-concussion ________, or PCS. ______ with PCS may experience constant _________, learning ____________, and __________ symptoms that even affect their personal _____________ for months or years after the injury. Trying to play through a concussion, even for only a few _______, or returning to ______ too soon after a __________, makes it more likely to develop PCS. In some _____, a concussion can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms unfold slowly over time. That's often true of _____________ impacts which result from lower impact jolts to the head than those that cause concussions. This category of injury doesn't cause noticable symptoms right away, but can lead to severe ____________ brain diseases over time if it happens repeatedly. Take ______ players, who are known for __________ heading soccer balls. Using a technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging, we're beginning to find out what effect that has on the brain. This method allows scientists to find large axon bundles and see how milder blows might alter them structurally. In 2013, researchers using this technique discovered that ________ who had headed the ball most, about 1,800 times a year, had _______ the structural integrity of their axon bundles. The damage was similar to how a rope will fail when the __________ fibers start to fray. Those players also performed worse on short-term memory tests, so even though no one suffered full-blown concussions, these subconcussive hits added up to measurable damage over time. In fact, ___________ know that an overload of subconcussive hits is linked to a degenerative brain disease known as _______ Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. People with CTE suffer from changes in their mood and behavior that begin appearing in their 30s or 40s followed by problems with thinking and memory that can, in some cases, even result in dementia. The culprit is a protein called tau. Usually, tau proteins support tiny tubes inside our _____ called microtubules. It's thought that ________ subconcussive hits damage the microtubules, causing the tau proteins to dislodge and _____ together. The ______ disrupt transport and communication along the neuron and _____ the breakdown of connections within the brain. Once the tau proteins start clumping together, they cause more clumps to form and continue to spread throughout the brain, even after head impacts have stopped. The data show that at least among football players, between 50 and 80% of ___________ go unreported and untreated. Sometimes that's because it's hard to tell a concussion has occurred in the first place. But it's also often due to pressure or a desire to keep going despite the fact that something's wrong. This doesn't just undermine recovery. It's also _________. Our brains aren't __________. They still need us to shield them from harm and help them undo ______ once it's been done.

Solution

responds
behavioral
individual
repeated
athletes
damage
explains
brain
receive
people
concussions
sports
drive
degenerative
bleed
relationships
soccer
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clump
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depression
events
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clumps
invincible
dangerous
syndrome
delicate
return
headaches
axons
blurry
severe
onset
cases
subconcussive
death
headache
chronic
network
concussion
fully
minutes
difficulties
manifest

Original Text

Each year in the United States, players of sports and recreational activities receive between 2.5 and 4 million concussions. How dangerous are all those concussions? The answer is complicated, and lies in how the brain responds when something strikes it. The brain is made of soft fatty tissue, with a consistency something like jello. Inside its protective membranes and the skull's hard casing, this delicate organ is usually well-shielded. But a sudden jolt can make the brain shift and bump against the skull's hard interior, and unlike jello, the brain's tissue isn't uniform. It's made of a vast network of 90 billion neurons, which relay signals through their long axons to communicate throughout the brain and control our bodies. This spindly structure makes them very fragile so that when impacted, neurons will stretch and even tear. That not only disrupts their ability to communicate but as destroyed axons begin to degenerate, they also release toxins causing the death of other neurons, too. This combination of events causes a concussion. The damage can manifest in many different ways including blackout, headache, blurry vision, balance problems, altered mood and behavior, problems with memory, thinking, and sleeping, and the onset of anxiety and depression. Every brain is different, which explains why people's experiences of concussions vary so widely. Luckily, the majority of concussions fully heal and symptoms disappear within a matter of days or weeks. Lots of rest and a gradual return to activity allows the brain to heal itself. On the subject of rest, many people have heard that you're not supposed to sleep shortly after receiving a concussion because you might slip into a coma. That's a myth. So long as doctors aren't concerned there may also be a more severe brain injury, like a brain bleed, there's no documented problem with going to sleep after a concussion. Sometimes, victims of concussion can experience something called post-concussion syndrome, or PCS. People with PCS may experience constant headaches, learning difficulties, and behavioral symptoms that even affect their personal relationships for months or years after the injury. Trying to play through a concussion, even for only a few minutes, or returning to sports too soon after a concussion, makes it more likely to develop PCS. In some cases, a concussion can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms unfold slowly over time. That's often true of subconcussive impacts which result from lower impact jolts to the head than those that cause concussions. This category of injury doesn't cause noticable symptoms right away, but can lead to severe degenerative brain diseases over time if it happens repeatedly. Take soccer players, who are known for repeatedly heading soccer balls. Using a technique called Diffusion Tensor Imaging, we're beginning to find out what effect that has on the brain. This method allows scientists to find large axon bundles and see how milder blows might alter them structurally. In 2013, researchers using this technique discovered that athletes who had headed the ball most, about 1,800 times a year, had damaged the structural integrity of their axon bundles. The damage was similar to how a rope will fail when the individual fibers start to fray. Those players also performed worse on short-term memory tests, so even though no one suffered full-blown concussions, these subconcussive hits added up to measurable damage over time. In fact, researchers know that an overload of subconcussive hits is linked to a degenerative brain disease known as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. People with CTE suffer from changes in their mood and behavior that begin appearing in their 30s or 40s followed by problems with thinking and memory that can, in some cases, even result in dementia. The culprit is a protein called tau. Usually, tau proteins support tiny tubes inside our axons called microtubules. It's thought that repeated subconcussive hits damage the microtubules, causing the tau proteins to dislodge and clump together. The clumps disrupt transport and communication along the neuron and drive the breakdown of connections within the brain. Once the tau proteins start clumping together, they cause more clumps to form and continue to spread throughout the brain, even after head impacts have stopped. The data show that at least among football players, between 50 and 80% of concussions go unreported and untreated. Sometimes that's because it's hard to tell a concussion has occurred in the first place. But it's also often due to pressure or a desire to keep going despite the fact that something's wrong. This doesn't just undermine recovery. It's also dangerous. Our brains aren't invincible. They still need us to shield them from harm and help them undo damage once it's been done.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
subconcussive hits	3
tau proteins	3
degenerative brain	2
axon bundles	2

Important Words

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