Can brain funciton recover after trauma? is the loss of mental function resulting from brain trauma necessarily permanent, or can it be recovered?

It : It depends on the severity of the brain injury. Injuries range from mild concussions, which are almost always completely recoverable, to intracranial hemorrhages and diffuse axonal injury, which may be partially or not at all recoverable. If the injury you are referring to is minor- such as mild confusion of a days' duration, then the patient should avoid activities likely to cause a reinjury (such as contact sports) for 6 weeks. For major injuries, you should already be in contact with a neurosurgeon- who you should ask for an honest assessment of the patient's ability to recover. In general, by the time a week has passed after the injury, you should not expect vast improvement in the patient's condition.

Yes: The brain tends to compensate, with or without therapy over a 1-1 1/2 year period following brain injury. Speech therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, memory enhancing drugs, ritalin, (methylphenidate) all may spead your recovery and allow improved coping.