Brain and Head Injuries Research Essay
Head and brain injuries occur when you least expect them to. The seriousness can range from just a bump to a mental illness, paralysis, and even death. The minor bumps and bruises often have no long term effects, but more serious injuries often have long term or even permanent side effects. These serious head injuries often lead to a psychological disorder from either the injury itself or the aftermath of the injury (Lehr). Brain and Head Injuries Research Essay
To understand the way an injury to the head or brain would occur, one must understand the biology of the brain, and the areas that would be affected. The frontal lobe is the most anterior and it is right under the forehead. It is almost always injured because of its large size and its location near the front of the cranium. It is also easily injured because of its location near bony protrusions.
The main functions of the frontal lobe are consciousness, judgements, emotional responses, expressive language, assigns meaning to the words that are chosen, and memory for habits and motor activities. There are many problems that can be associate to a frontal lobe injury. Some of these problems can be treated while other cannot. The main difficulties are paralysis, sequencing, inability to focus on a task, mood changes, changes in social behavior, changes in personality, difficulty expressing language, and a difficulty solving problems (Nettina 1038-1039). Brain and Head Injuries Research Essay
The paralysis is almost always permanent, while the others can usually be treated. Many times when changes in personality occur they cannot be reversed because it has become a permanent part of an individual’s being.
The parietal lobes which are located near the back and top of the head have the functions of location of visual attention, location for touch perception, goal directed voluntary movements, manipulation of objects, the integration of different senses that allows for the understanding of a single concept (Lehr).
There are several problems that can occur from a parietal lobe injury that can directly and indirectly lead to a mental illness. One of the most serious side effects that can occur from a parietal lobe injury is apraxia. Apraxia is the lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or the surrounding space. This is a problem because it can lead to the inability to care for ones self. Other problems are inability to focus attention, trouble distinguishing left…Brain and Head Injuries Research Essay