California Brain Injury Attorney

Symptoms of Brain Damage Following Traumatic Brain Injury

What Determines the Head Injury Victim's Brain Damage Symptoms?

The brain allows us to think, react and reason. As part of the central nervous system, the brain works with the spine to help us to move, keep our balance and orient ourselves to our environment.

Brain and spinal injuries are notoriously difficult to pinpoint in many cases, but specific areas of the brain are known to control certain mental and/or physical functions. Therefore, the type of symptoms any particular head injury sufferer experiences may be traceable to the location of the head injury itself. The parts of the brain include:

The Cerebrum: The Cerebrum is the largest part of the brain and has what are known as the right and left hemispheres. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left hemisphere controls the right. Therefore, when the right hemisphere of the brain is injured, it is more likely that motor skill problems will be observed on the left side of the body.

Within each of the two hemispheres are four lobes. Each has primary control over certain mental and physical processes, but some of the functions one lobe has dominant control over may also be performed, in part at least, by another lobe. That is one reason why an injury in one type of lobe may have similar symptoms to a brain injury to another type. Seizures are common symptoms of damage to any of the four lobe types.

• The Frontal Lobe: The frontal lobe controls mental processes, such as thought and memory. When frontal lobes are injured, problems with behavior, speech, writing, short-term memory and clear thinking are possible.

• The Parietal Lobe: The parietal lobe controls sensory perception and body orientation. If the parietal lobe has been damaged, the victim of brain damage may experience difficulty doing mathematical calculations or using language as before.

• The Occipital Lobe: The occipital lobe is connected to understanding of visual cues. With brain damage involving the occipital lobe, blindness and other sight problems are common.

• The Temporal Lobe: The temporal lobe controls the abilities to hear and understand language

The Cerebellum: The cerebellum is located at the back of the head, under the cerebrum. Its plays a pivotal role in helping us to use our motor skills and coordination; although it does not "order" the body to move when we want movement to occur, the cerebellum is the means used to carry out any such "order." Like the cerebrum, it has a left and right hemisphere. If there has been an injury to the cerebellum, the brain damage victim is likely to be able to perceive the world as before the head injury, but his movements will be jerky and less well coordinated.

The Diencephalon: The diencephalons contains the thalamus, the hypothalamus, the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland and the lateral geniculate nucleus. Damage to the hypothalamus is particularly dangerous to the brain injury victim because this area regulates body temperature, as well as several other crucial functions like blood pressure. The thalamus is believed to act as a sort of "translator," relaying messages to other parts of the brain. It has a role in determining our level of wakefulness and concentration; damage to the thalamus can cause the brain injury victim to go into a comatose state.

The Brain Stem: The brain stem is the part of the brain that connects to the spinal cord. As such, it acts as a pathway for information between the brain and the rest of the body. It is part of the systems that control cardiovascular and lung functions, among others, so damage to the brain stem that limits these functions can be life-threatening.

Recognizing Brain Damage Symptoms

Some brain injuries are immediately obvious, even to the untrained observer. A person with severe traumatic brain injury may be comatose, unresponsive or unable to communicate - these are certainly signs that a person may have sustained severe brain damage after a car crash, botched operation, fist fight or slip-and-fall accident. On the other hand, there are many people with brain damage from brain injuries they thought they had recovered from, or who never knew they sustained brain damage in the first place. In fact, certain brain damage victims can walk around for some time thinking nothing is wrong and that, perhaps, their newly-developed difficulties with short-term memory or physical coordination are the result of something as common as the aging process, instead of the slip and fall they took on the icy steps of a department store six months earlier. As these symptoms grow more difficult to deal with, however, their true origin - head injury that caused brain damage - may become more apparent.

In general, symptoms of brain injury, like those of any other injury, will diminish over time as the brain heals itself. A person who has suffered brain damage may also think his or her injuries are healing because of unconscious attempts to compensate for lost abilities, perhaps by switching some tasks from the dominant right hand to the left when the right hand becomes weak due to brain damage.

What are the symptoms of brain damage? Apart from the obvious ones, like catatonic state, hematoma (bruises or other blood collection around the injury) and inability to move following a traumatic brain injury, symptoms might include:

• Slow thinking process and faulty memory

• Persistent headaches and/or neck pain

• Changes in mood or personality, such as increased irritability, unprovoked anger or sadness

• Nausea

• Ringing in the ears

• Diminished sensory capabilities (sight, hearing, taste, smell)

• Ultra-sensitivity to light or sound

• Inability to sleep properly - or, conversely, difficulty staying awake and alert

• Difficulty balancing or controlling body movements

Because children who have suffered a brain injury may not yet be speaking, or may be less able than adults to communicate things that they are experiencing, they should be watched particularly closely following a traumatic brain injury. Children with traumatic brain injuries may exhibit the same symptoms as those listed above, but they may show them in ways that are unique to young children. Be wary of:

• Changes in play patterns

• Changes in performance at school

• Loss of interest in previously well-loved toys or games

• Backsliding in newly-learned skills, such as speaking or toilet training

Return to main Brain Injuries article