Soooo, soon after Enterprise E arrives at the Bak'u world, the crew begins to rejuvenate. Picard grows dark stubble, Worf gets a zit, Geordi gets new eyes, and Troi/Crusher get... well... firmer. Why doesn't this happen to Admiral Dougherty? Or to the Sona for that matter? They've been there weeks, perhaps months longer than Enterprise.
In the case of Admiral Doughterty, it likely did, I think that is what was behind his comment to Picard that Picard looked "rested." With the Sona, while they too likely felt slightly better, they were so far gone that the effects of just recieving normal exposure to the radiation was next to nothing.
They state in the film that it takes more time to repair the damage the older you get. And besides, who knows how old Dougherty appeared before he entered the Briar Patch?
^^^Awesome. I don't know though. I can accept that the Sona are so far gone, they can't wait for the normal effects. But Dougherty I still think should have shown some signs of reversal as the film progressed. Maybe just gradually darkened his hair?
Didn't they mention only 'good' people receive the effects of the Briar Patch, those whose hearts are pure like the Baku and the Enterprise crew. That makes about as much sense as anything else.
Maybe they need to be on the planet's surface, outside the observation lab, to be affected? I don't recall if that's consistent with what we do see...
The crew of the Enterprise E start to show some signs of improvement as soon as the ship enters the Briar Patch.