Brain Injury Symptoms

Common Brain Injury Symptoms

• FUNCTIONS OF BRAIN BASED ON BRAIN INJURY SYMPTOMS

Frontal Lobe: Forehead

• Loss of simple movement of various body parts (Paralysis).
• Inability to plan a sequence of complex movements needed to complete multi-stepped tasks, such as making coffee (Sequencing).
• Loss of spontaneity in interacting with others.
• Loss of flexibility in thinking.
• Persistence of a single thought (Perseveration).
• Inability to focus on task (Attending).
• Mood changes (Emotionally Labile).
• Changes in social behavior.
• Changes in personality.
• Difficulty with problem solving.
• Inability to express language (Broca's Aphasia).

Parietal Lobe: Near the back and top of the head

• Inability to attend to more than one object at a time.
• Inability to name an object (Anomia).
• Inability to locate the words for writing (Agraphia).
• Problems with reading (Alexia).
• Difficulty with drawing objects.
• Difficulty in distinguishing left from right.
• Difficulty with doing mathematics (Dyscalculia).
• Lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or surrounding space (Apraxia) that leads to difficulties in self-care.
• Inability to focus visual attention.
• Difficulties with eye and hand coordination.

Occipital Lobes: most posterior, at the back of the head

• Defects in vision (Visual Field Cuts).
• Difficulty with locating objects in environment.
• Difficulty with identifying colors (Color Agnosia).
• Production of hallucinations.
• Visual illusions - inaccurately seeing objects.
• Word blindness - inability to recognize words.
• Difficulty in recognizing drawn objects.
• Inability to recognize the movement of object (Movement Agnosia).
• Difficulties with reading and writing.

• Difficulty in recognizing faces (Prosopagnosia).
• Difficulty in understanding spoken words (Wernicke's Aphasia).
  
• Disturbance with selective attention to what we see and hear.
• Difficulty with identification of, and verbalization about objects.
• Short term memory loss.
• Interference with long term memory.
• Increased and decreased interest in sexual behavior.
• Inability to catagorize objects (Categorization).
• Right lobe damage can cause persistent talking.
• Increased aggressive behavior.

• Decreased vital capacity in breathing, important for speech.
• Swallowing food and water (Dysphagia).
• Difficulty with organization/perception of the environment.
• Problems with balance and movement.
• Dizziness and nausea (Vertigo).
• Sleeping difficulties (Insomnia, sleep apnea).

Cerebellum: base of the skull

• Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements.
• Loss of ability to walk.
• Inability to reach out and grab objects.
• Tremors.
• Dizziness (Vertigo).
• Slurred Speech (Scanning Speech).
• Inability to make rapid movements.