Brain dysfunction can arise from different types of injuries, the most common ones including Traumatic Brain Injuries and exposure to neurotoxins.

In some cases, brain dysfunction might persist for long periods of time, sometimes taking years to resolve, or even in some cases, does not resolve at all.

Can certain types of brain dysfunction be treated with potent neurotoxins?

This hypothesis stems from the idea that neurotoxins, when administered in low doses, activate protection mechanisms that not only improve the cell's resistance to higher doses of themselves (provide long-term protection), but also activate repair mechanisms that can heal damage done to the cell in the past. The idea is that since low doses work the opposite way from high doses, they can stimulate repair mechanisms that are inhibited when the toxin is administered in high doses.

This concept is based on the basic principles of Hormesis.

A few examples of Hormesis occurring with low doses of neurotoxins:

* Administration of low dose methamphetamine 12 hours after a severe traumatic brain injury prevents neurological dysfunction and cognitive impairment in rats (2013)


* Pretreatment of neurons with a low concentration of Glutamate can protect them from being damaged by a higher concentration of Glutamate (2007) (Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter which is toxic in high concentrations - it is responsible for a big part of the neuron death that may occur after a TBI)


* Neurohormetic phytochemicals: Low-dose toxins that induce adaptive neuronal stress responses (2006)

Due to the massive potential of Hormesis in the area of treating persistent brain dysfunction, more studies should be done about Hormesis in this area and in general in order to make medicine more advanced in this area and in general.

What is your opinion about this hypothesis?