How Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) Impact the Brain How a TBI impacts Cognitive Skills Our brain uses a set of core skills to think, learn, read, reason, remember, and pay attention. These cognitive skills include auditory and visual processing, memory, logic & reasoning, attention, and processing speed. When damaged neurons lose their ability to send information to one another because of a traumatic brain injury, it impacts cognitive skills. Depending on what regions of the brain are injured—and how badly, it differs from person to person. For example, after a moderate to severe brain injury, the individual may have trouble remembering old information or retaining new information, solving problems, or tolerating certain situations without overstimulating. This individual may also lack executive functioning skills to the point that friends, family, and coworkers may notice the person struggling with: • Impulse control: The person may have trouble thinking before speaking, resisting temptations, or conceptualizing and weighing consequences before acting. • Organization: The person may have difficulty keeping track of their belongings, keeping track of important information, or paying bills on time. • Planning and prioritizing: The person may not plan daily tasks or meet short-term or long-term responsibilities. • Task Initiation: The person may struggle to start tasks or feel unmotivated to accomplish anything. • Flexible thinking: The person may struggle to adjust to routine changes or new situations. They may seem rigid in their thinking and may not learn from any mistakes they make. • Self-awareness and monitoring: The person may fail to adjust their behaviors despite the situation calling for it. • Emotional control: The person may be unable to regulate their emotions, especially under pressure. • Time management: The person may frequently arrive late to important events and appointments. How personal brain training may help At LearningRx, we don’t diagnose or treat traumatic brain injury but rather aid in the cognitive performance of our clients. We’ve worked with children, teens, seniors, soldiers, and other adults who have experienced a range of brain injuries—from concussions to very traumatic brain injuries. In our current Results Report, you can read about the results from nine years of data in which 386 children and adults came to LearningRx diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. Every client had an initial Brain Skills Assessment to determine the strength of each of their cognitive skills. After training, clients were re-assessed. The results showed: • Among 386 clients with TBI, the most dramatic improvements were seen in long-term memory, auditory processing, and broad attention. • Long-term memory skills improved an average of 2.9 years. • IQ scores also improved after LearningRx brain training. Each brain is unique, and it’s unreasonable to guarantee that every person with a TBI will experience the same results, which is why our initial cognitive skills assessment helps uncover the areas of the brain in need of strengthening. The review only takes about an hour, and there’s no requirement to sign up for a LearningRx personal brain training program. If you choose to undergo LearningRx brain training, we’ll use your assessment results to create a program targetting the cognitive skills you need most to help you perform better in life. You’ll work with your brain trainer, who will be with you for the duration of your program. Additional resources when considering LearningRx personal brain training: • Research Results and Client Outcomes This report summarizes the significant research on LearningRx programs and provides an overview of the LearningRx client outcomes from 2010 to 2018. • Frontiers in Psychology “Cognitive Effects of ThinkRx Cognitive Rehabilitation Training for Eleven Soldiers with Brain Injury: A retrospective chart review”—Christina Ledbetter, Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, Ph.D. from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, conduct a chart review from the pilot study of soldiers with TBI Videos of LearningRx graduates with concussions and traumatic brain injuries: 1. John Keller, 2011 LearningRx Student of the Year After his motorcycle was hit by a car, John spent more than 70 days in a coma and 344 days in the hospital for various injuries, including a severe traumatic brain injury that left him with the cognitive function of a young child. He credits LearningRx with much of his cognitive improvement. 2. Drew F. from Chattanooga Drew was in a bicycle accident and suffered a severe traumatic brain injury which led to a lengthy hospital stay, physical and occupational therapies, and eventually, one-on-one brain training to help with cognitive deficiencies. Drew wanted to improve his memory and attention to work with other traumatic brain injury survivors. 3. Ben Utecht, former NFL tight end Now retired from the NFL, Ben came to LearningRx after experiencing memory loss due to five concussions. Since completing his brain training program, Ben has made numerous media appearances to discuss his experiences with concussion-related damage and was featured in the New York Times.