(Spoiler alert \u2013 the answer is \u201cReading between the lines.\u201d)<\/em><\/p>\nVisitors also had an opportunity to role play as future neurologists. Student volunteers explained the tools used during a neurological exam and then invited museum guests to become the physician.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019ll have a whole new perspective the next time we visit the pediatrician,\u201d commented one mother as her eight-year-old daughter tried out a reflex hammer on the knee of student volunteer Katelyn Trecartin.<\/p>\n
Activities continued on Saturday, with a keynote panel discussion by Boston University School of Medicine faculty members Drs. Anna Hohler, Terence Keane, Robert Stern and Jennifer Vasterling. The capacity crowd heard about a broad spectrum of brain injuries, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Concussion, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal was to bring together a group of experts who could talk about the range of brain injuries and illnesses, how they are alike and how they differ, and what the most current research is telling us,\u201d said Dr. Susan Heilman, the museum educator who organized the event.<\/p>\n
Hohler opened the discussion with an overview of brain anatomy and an explanation of how injuries affect the brain. Keane, who serves as director of the National Center for PTSD at the VA Boston Healthcare System, gave the audience a history of PTSD and a summary of current research.<\/p>\n
Vasterling described what happens when TBIs occur in the context of psychological trauma and highlighted recent research on the intersection of TBI and PTSD. When asked by a high school student if PTSD looked different in people who have also sustained a traumatic brain injury, Vasterling explained that the risk of PTSD goes up after mild TBI, but researchers are still exploring whether or not PTSD expresses itself differently in patients with TBI.<\/p>\n
Stern gave museum visitors insight into current research on CTE, a topic that was of great interest to many in the wake of recent comments by NFL executive Jeff Miller referencing the work of BU researcher Ann McKee, MD, in recognizing a link between football and CTE.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think the work being done at BU will change the way the game of football is played?\u201d asked one guest.<\/p>\n
Stern, an avid football fan, replied that research being done at the CTE Center will likely lead to efforts to make the game safer for players.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe may see younger kids playing flag football rather than contact football during the years their brains are rapidly developing,\u201d Stern explained. \u201cWe are already seeing a reduction in full-contact practices and that will likely increase. So yes, I think this work will have an effect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many in the audience had personal reasons for attending the talk. Some had suffered a brain injury themselves. Others were interested in the most recent information because their children play contact sports. Many had relatives who are Veterans or current military members.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather fought in World War II and suffered a brain injury,\u201d said one Museum visitor. \u201cI\u2019m so glad I came to this talk, because it gave me a better understanding of what he was going through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Submitted by Monica Parker-James.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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