Concussions Look To Be The Cause of Benoit’s Rage

According to wsbtv.com out of Atlanta, the test results on Chris Benoit’s brain suggest that a series of concussions may have caused the rage that led him to murder his wife, his son and commit suicide.

In the article, Dr. Julian Bailes, head of neurosurgery at WVU, said the results of tests on Chris Benoit’s brain were striking. Showing a slide of Benoit’s brain tissue Wednesday morning on ABC’s Good Morning America Bailes pointed out what he called abnormalities. “These are dead brain cells,” said Bailes.

When asked how much of that he found Bailes replied, “It was extensive, throughout Chris’s brain. It was striking and maybe shocking in the extent.” The researcher said Benoit’s brain scan looked similar to those of Alzheimer’s patients. He described Benoit’s brain as “very abnormal, something you should never see in a 40-year old.”

Bailes has done similar research on the brains of former professional football players who committed suicide. He found similar brain damage in their cases; theroizes that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioral problems. He goes onto say that a pattern emerges, “a recurring theme of failure in their personal lives and their business lives, depression and then ultimate suicide.”

Interestingly enough, Benoit’s finisher was the flying headbutt which put tremendous stress on the head and brain each time he did it.

You can see another article on this at ABCNews.go.com.