Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE | Chris Nowinski

Something strange and deadly is happening inside the brains of top athletes — a degenerative condition, possibly linked to concussions, that causes dementia, psychosis and far-too-early death. It's called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and it's the medical mystery that Chris Nowinski wants to solve by analyzing brains after death. It's also why, when Nowinski meets a pro athlete, his first question is: "Can I have your brain?" Hear more from this ground-breaking effort to protect athletes' brains — and yours, too.

Check out more TED Talks:

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more.

Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:

Subscribe to our channel:

28 Comments on Can I have your brain? The quest for truth on concussions and CTE | Chris Nowinski

  1. I’ll donate my brain, but this cause would be a waste since I’ve never had a concussion. But I have bi-polar and would donate to help that. Can you donate your brain to more than one place? I’ll be dead but my ego will be happy that my brain is being studied by scientists around the world. My goal in life is to have my brain in a jar next to Einsteins.

  2. When I was younger, mine and my sister’s heads were banged together very hard. It was quite a normal thing back then: “BE QUIET OR I’ll BANG YOUR HEADS TOGETHER!” The 90s wasn’t a very enlightened decade.

  3. this gets me a bit worried as even when young I used to fight with my older brother usually resulting in me getting a beating on my head as well as almost getting a concussion in boxing. I have two failed Suicide attempts and at the age of 24 my memory, concentration and most brain processes are weak. I also have quite severe anxiety and depression, but my doctor said it’s unlikely I started developing the disease, but sometimes I fear for the worst…

    • Clark Ajuga have you ever thought to get a F-PET Scan? It may reveal some of amigdal and prefrontal activity and a neurologist could search for the prognosis of the lession. Sorry the bad English

  4. I believe that cte is very possibly the cause for my severe depression and complete 180° from whom I used to be. It literally happened overnight. I was funny and outgoing and woke up the next day and was hit with crippling depression, almost daily headaches and the other symptoms described.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


Shares
Share This