Visualization and the injured brain

Photo: Contributed

The National Research Council of Canada announced an amazing story this week about new approaches to brain injury. Their story focuses on neuroplasticity and the determination that is necessary for recovery. And more than that, this is a story about hope and inspiration.

The hero in this story is Captain Trevor Greene, a Canadian soldier who is lucky to be alive today. In 2006 he was involved in a peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan when he was surprisingly attacked by a local sixteen year old. He had his helmet off to show respect for their elders, and wham, he got hit in the head with an axe. Ouch!

The initial tragic diagnosis was that he was not expected to survive, but on the off chance that he did, he would likely be in a comatose state permanently because of the extreme damage to his brain.

Through his own willpower and determination, along with the assistance of a team of leading edge physicians and rehabilitation specialists, Captain Trevor Green is continuing to make a remarkable recovery.

What’s surprising is that most of Greene’s really big gains in recovery took place four years after the initial injury. This flies in the face of conventional medicine where they held firmly an outdated belief that there was only a short window for recovery with brain trauma.

Greene has gone from wounded soldier to hero and an exemplary model of neuroplasticity and healing in the human brain.

As a soldier he is no stranger to discipline and realizes that his recovery is a full time job. With daily exhaustive hours of repetitious exercises, relentless focus and visualization exercises, he is changing his brain.

What’s even more interesting is that they are able to measure the brain changes that are taking place. Through a series of functional magnetic resonance images, specialists are able to visually see how areas of Greene’s brain are compensating for lost function while also tracking new neural circuits that are developing.

In fact, they even measured the changes in brain activity while Greene simply used his imagination. He would mentally rehearse rowing in his mind – a sport he knew well as he had trained at a competitive level at one time. While visualizing rowing, they found that his brain used the same motor areas that are active during real movement. Greene admitted that afterwards he feels tired, as he would if he was actually rowing.

Guided imagery is a tool that is routinely used by elite athletes. This latest research also suggests that brain rehabilitation for the average person may be possible through guided imagery as well.

In the three-month period of intense rehabilitation, Green has gone from barely being able to stand to standing for 30 minutes. Knowing that his brain is changing helps to keep him motivated and gives him solid validation for his hard work.

Greene’s dedication to his recovery process along with the validating neuro research undeniably demonstrates the malleability of the human brain and sheds new light on recovery from brain injuries.

And like a true hero, Greene is continuing to help others in his new career as a motivational speaker and is working on a book about his recovery journey.

Annie Hopper is a Limbic System Retraining and Rehab Specialist. She can be reached at www.dnrsystem.com

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.