A Look Inside. New brain scans are making it easier to spot concussions

摘要

Traditional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Is not able to pick up the microscopic physical changes caused by a concussion. MRS (left) can't either, but It can assess the brain's metabolic function. That's key, since the metabolic system falters when a brain Is concussed. Unhealthy metabolism means an injured brainrnwhich transmit Impulses between brain cells, can be damaged by a concussion. Those fibers are too small to see, but DTI reveals how well they're functioning by tracking the movement of water along them.