Brain Injury
Understanding long-term brain injury
Frontal Lobe
Bobby was involved in a car accident. His head hit the steering wheel as a result of not wearing his seatbelt. The accident caused a traumatic brain injury of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. After several months, Bobby was still unable to move his left arm, had trouble thinking, couldn’t remember dates and often had mood swings.
There are some things a caretaker for Bobby needs to understand. The frontal lobe controls certain body functions. Movement, thinking, reasoning, behavior, memory, and speaking. According to Breedlove & Watson, the frontal lobe is responsible for movement and high-level cognition (p. 39).
The brain is a complex organ. Depending on how much damage Bobby’s brain endured, the damage will determine how well Bobby will recover. Some function will return depending on rehabilitation, however Bobby will not be able to function in the same manner.
A caretaker should have questions. Included:
What types of rehabilitation are effective?
How long will recover take?
What will happen if rehabilitation is ineffective?
References
Brain Injury Institute (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.braininjuryinstitute.org/Brain-Injury-Types/Frontal-Lobe-Damage.html
Breedlove, S.M., & Watson, N.V. (2013). Biological psychology: An introduction to behavioral, cognitive, and clinical neuroscience (7th ed.). Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Health Pages (2015). Retrieved from: http://www.healthpages.org/brain-injury/brain-injury-brain-functions/
Imagecade (2015). Retrieved from: http://imgarcade.com/1/frontal-lobe-damage/
Cerebral Cortex
Injury
MRI
Brain
Email: agreen52@baker.edu