Head injuries tend to manifest differently for different people. The impacting factors can range from the victim’s age to the severity of the blow to the head.
However, certain factors will remain the same across the board simply due to the location of the injury itself.
What does the frontal lobe control?
Physiopedia looks at injuries to the frontal lobe of the brain. These injuries tend to manifest certain effects due to the aspects of a person’s body and mind that the frontal lobe controls.
The frontal lobe makes up a third of the brain’s weight and includes several components such as the prefrontal cortex and motor cortex. This area of the brain holds responsibility for a vast number of things, including:
- Working memory and executive function
- Reasoning and impulse control
- Voluntary movement of the body and eyes
- Motor control of speech
- Personality and emotional traits
Impacts of injury
Thus, the impacts of an injury to this area often reflect these things. One of the most common effects of a frontal lobe injury, for example, is a change in the victim’s temperament. Loved ones often report that they seem easier to irritate or agitate and they may even lash out and say or do things that seem extremely out of character.
Memory loss or trouble with the formation of memories also often troubles victims. They struggle in the weeks and months after the incident while swelling still affects the brain. Though this often recedes with the swelling, some people suffer from permanent memory problems that can seriously impact their lives, resulting in depression and other complications later on in life.