Emil,

I think this is a thoughtful theory, but I think my case disproves it. I only had one concussion, and I have an IQ in the 130-140 range, so according to your theory I should have had enough of a "buffer" to not notice a slight loss of some functionality.

But I had delayed onset PCS that became most pronounced about three months after my original injury! For me a complicating factor was that I also had a ruptured ear drum, and I didn't get that repaired until almost two months after my injury. My neurologist said that the brain doesn't start to heal until the physical injury has healed. Other complicating factors were that I don't think I rested enough -- I went back to teaching a week after my injury, and started training for roller derby again about two weeks after. Plus, looking back, both derby and the summer school teaching job were unusually stressful. But when I really noticed symptoms was when fall came and I went back to teaching full time. Maybe I was able to deal with part time work but then full time was too much of a cognitive load.