Concussion credited with unlocking teenager's musical talent

A tone-deaf teenager who spent weeks in hospital with concussion injuries has since discovered the ability to play 13 musical instruments. Lachlan Connors, 19, from Denver, tried to learn to play the piano before his injuries, but found he had no aptitude for music. Lachlan was a keen sportsman. He loved to play lacrosse, and hoped to play professionally one day.

However, a series of concussion injuries on the field led to seizures and eventually hospital. "I fell backwards and hit the back of my head on the ground. I remember getting up and feeling really dazed. I didn't really understand something bad had happened," Lachlan said. In subsequent matches he suffered further blows to the head. He started to have epileptic seizures and hallucinations, and eventually spent several weeks in hospital.

When he was released, doctors told Lachlan he could no longer play contact sports. However, he soon discovered he could play music easily by ear. He can now play as many as 13 instruments, including the guitar, the piano, the bagpipes, the mandolin and the accordion. "I honestly think something got rewired and something just changed. Thank God it did," Lachlan said.

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Lachlan's doctors said the concussion injuries may have stimulated a previously unused part of his brain. "This was not a small injury for him," said Dr Spyridon Papadopoulos. "The thought is that this was a talent that was laying latent in his brain and was somehow uncovered by his brain rewiring after the injury."