Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has lost a bit of her brain. How do people survive and thrive after a brain injury?
In a recent interview, Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke talked about being able to live “absolutely normal” after two aneurysms – one in 2011 and one in 2013 – caused brain injuries. He went on to undergo two brain surgeries. An aneurysm is a bulge or balloon in the wall of a blood vessel, often accompanied by a headache or severe pain. So how can people survive and thrive despite having, as Clarke puts it, “a little bit missing” from their brain? The key to understanding how brains can recover from trauma is that they are highly plastic – meaning our body’s supercomputer can reshape and remodel itself. Read more: Growing up in a disadvantaged environment can change children’s brains – and their reactions Our amazing plastic brain The brain can adapt and change in extraordinary ways. You do it now as you form new memories. It’s not that the brain has evolved to deal with brain trauma or stroke or aneurysm; our ancestors usually died when that happened and may not