The human brain is made of several different sections, each responsible for controlling different parts of your body. For this reason, the area that suffers from traumatic brain injury has a strong bearing on the resulting deficits or disability.
Deep Within the Brain
Some of the most important control centers are located deep inside the brain where they have more protection. These inner areas take care of vital body functions that you cannot live without. You do these things without thinking about them. Breathing, keeping your heart beating normally, growing and other similar functions are all controlled by this part of the brain. If a brain injury affects these core areas, the damage would most likely cause a fast death.
Muscle Coordination and Balance
The cerebellum is one of the smallest regions of the brain. It is located in the lower rear of the brain, just above the place where your spine starts. If you experience a brain injury in the cerebellum, you could have difficulty moving or keeping balance. Simple motions like walking, eating, and talking can become impossible or very difficult. Since this part of the brain is also close to the brain stem, inner brain, and spine, severe damage in this area could be life threatening.
Emotions and Behavior
The frontal lobe gets its name from its location at the front of the brain. A severe blow to the forehead of top front of the skull could damage this lobe. If injured here, you may experience dramatic shifts in your emotional responses and behaviors. This area of the brain controls personality, problem solving and reasoning.
People with severely damaged frontal lobes tend to behave in unexpected ways because they do not have normal control of their emotional responses. Damage to the frontal lobe can also cause problems with short-term memory or the ability to concentrate for long periods.
Along the Sides of the Brain
The temporal lobes are located on each side of your brain, near the temples. They control Emotions, memory, learning, hearing and language. Further along the top and sides of the brain are the parietal lobes. Damage here can cause someone to lose the ability to make sense of words.
Behind the parietal lobes, at the back of the brain, is the occipital lobe, which is important for vision. People who have badly damaged occipital lobes may become blind. If they can still see, they may not be able to differentiate colors or recognize different shapes.
Some parts of the brain can take over for others when they are damaged. Little is understood about how the brain does this. Recoveries where one part of the brain takes over for another happen more often in children, but are still rare.
Contact Us
If you or someone you love suffers from a severe brain injury, contact our offices for free information and advice about your rights to compensation. Our attorneys will help you decide what you should do next based on your particular case.