Your brain is arguably the most vital, most complex organ in your body. It is in charge of everything. It operates behind the scenes, keeping us alive, and, in the foreground as the home of our consciousness. That is why, clearly, when a person encounters a traumatic brain injury, there is so much fear.
At Carolina Hearts Home Care, we believe that comprehending the possible traumatic brain injury symptoms in relation to the location in the brain where the injury took place can help families better understand and make more informed decisions about their loved one’s care.
- Brain Stem: The brain stem controls the basic mechanism of life, which includes heart rate, respiration, digestion and blood pressure. It is the home of the startle response and reflex emotions, sleeping and waking cycles, and our ability to sneeze, cough, vomit, and swallow. Brain stem damage can lead to problems with all of these basic mechanisms, including impacting speech, due to a reduced capacity for breathing.
- Parietal Lobe: The parietal lobe is the base of our comprehension of language, sense of touch, spatial awareness, visual perceptions, and sense of time. When this region of the brain is damaged, people may encounter difficulty reading, the inability to draw or name objects, difficulty distinguishing right from left, difficulties with math, and an unawareness of or neglect of particular body parts. They will also frequently have difficulty with eye-hand coordination.
- Frontal Lobe: The frontal lobe is home to an individual’s personality, intelligence, and feelings. It is the region of the brain that regulates concentration, makes judgments, and problem-solves. And it controls body movement, including writing and speech. The effects of a frontal lobe injury can include changes and/or problems with the core functions controlled by the frontal lobe as well as more subtle manifestations of the core functionality, such as a lack of inhibition, an impaired sense of smell, vision loss, persistence of a single thought, and mood swings.
- Temporal Lobe: The temporal lobe is the home to our language comprehension, memory, hearing, learning, and sequencing. It lets us recognize faces and produces feelings. The effects of a temporal lobe injury can include difficulty with key functions as well as changes in sexual behavior, persistent talking (specifically with right lobe damage) and elevated aggression.
- Occipital Lobe: The occipital lobe is the home of sight. The results of an occipital lobe injury might include vision problems, such as blurred vision or blind spots, hallucinations, visual illusions, the inability to recognize the movement of an object, or difficulties with reading and writing.
- Cerebellum: The cerebellum manages movement, balance and coordination. A cerebellum injury can cause an individual to lose the ability to do things that involve coordination, such as walking, talking, or reaching out to pick up something. It can also cause tremors, dizziness, and/or slurred speech.
The brain, though it is made up of parts, functions as a whole. Difficulties with behaviors or functions can cascade, as can achievements gained through rehabilitation. If you have a loved one with a traumatic brain injury and could use help with caregiving due to the behavioral or physiological effects of the person’s trauma, Carolina Hearts Home Care’s home care services can help.
Contact our in-home caregiving team to schedule your free care consultation at 1-855-277-2005 to learn more about our services in Laurinburg, Rockingham, Raeford, and the surrounding areas.
