We often hear that younger brains recover better after a brain injury because they are more adaptable. But new research suggests that age may affect recovery in more complicated ways.
A study published in Experimental Neurology looked at how younger and older mice recovered after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Researchers followed the animals for four months, looking at changes in movement, memory and brain activity.
Recovery can look different at different ages
The researchers found that younger and older animals did not simply follow a better-versus-worse recovery pattern. Instead, they experienced different challenges over time.
Older animals tended to recover their movement and coordination more quickly. However, they had more difficulty retaining memories over the longer term.
Younger animals showed more ongoing problems with balance and coordination. They were also more likely to develop increasing seizure activity over time.
What about seizures?
One of the study’s key findings involved post-traumatic epilepsy, a condition in which seizures can develop after a brain injury.
Seizures tended to appear earlier in older animals, but remained relatively limited. In younger animals, seizures generally took longer to develop, but their frequency increased over time, resulting in a greater overall seizure burden.
This suggests that the effects of a brain injury may continue to change long after the initial injury.
Why does this matter?
The study highlights an important point: recovery from brain injury isn’t necessarily a straight line, and it may not look the same for everyone.
Age is just one factor that can influence recovery. The type and severity of an injury, the area of the brain affected, rehabilitation, and many individual circumstances can all play a role.
It’s also important to remember that this research was conducted in mice. More research is needed to understand how these findings might relate to people.
For brain injury survivors and caregivers, the takeaway is that changes in recovery may happen over time, and progress in one area doesn’t always mean every part of recovery is progressing in the same way.
References
Franklin, L., Ramakrishnan, S., & Reddy, D. S. (2026). Age-related trajectories in epileptogenesis and neurological function in an experimental model of post-traumatic epilepsy. Experimental Neurology, 405, 115937. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2026.115937
