Damages to Specific Areas of the Brain

Different areas of the brain are responsible for specific functions. Damage to the brain can result in different types and severity of deficits from one individual to another. The behaviours that emerge after an ABI are unique to each individual.

Area of the Brain

Function

Observed Problems When Injury Occurs in this Region

Frontal Lobes

The frontal lobes of the brain are very vulnerable to injury

(www.neuroskills.com)

Primarily responsible for putting things in order and sorting things out.

The “executive functions” of the brain are controlled by the frontal lobes.

Initiation (starting a task)
Problem solving
Judgment
Inhibition of behaviour
Planning
Emotional responses
Awareness of abilities/limitations
Concentration and attention
Abstract thinking
Foresight
Speech
Gross and fine motor planning.

Loss of simple movement of various body parts
Inability to plan a sequence of multi stepped tasks
Loss of spontaneous interactions with peers
Loss of flexibility in thinking
Persistence of a single thought (perseveration)
Inability to focus on task
Mood changes
Changes in social behavior
Changes in personality
Difficulty with problem solving
Inability to express language
Inability to perceive emotions or feelings in other

Parietal Lobes

(www.neuroskills.com)

Primarily responsible for the sense of touch and the ability to have a sense of body position.

Sense of hot/cold
Sense of hard/soft
Self-perception
Visual attention
Manipulation of objects
Constructional ability
Words and thought formation (left parietal lobe)
Understanding of the spatial nature of the world such as recognizing faces and shapes and knowing directions (right parietal lobe)

Inability to attend to more than one thing at a time
Inability to name an object
Inability to locate words for writing
Problems with reading
Difficulty with drawing objects
Difficulty distinguishing left from right
Difficulty doing mathematics
Lack of awareness of certain body parts or surrounding space
Inability to focus visual attention
Difficulty with eye and hand coordination

Temporal Lobes

(www.neuroskills.com)

Primarily responsible for the auditory reception (hearing) and some processing of visual information.

Sound recognition
Sound discrimination
Sound comprehension
Voice recognition
Auditory and visual memory storage
Emotional control

Difficulty recognizing faces
Difficulty understanding spoken words
Disturbances with selective attention to what we see and hear
Difficulty identifying and naming/describing objects
Short term memory loss
Interferences with long term memory
Increased or decreased interest in sexual behavior
Inability to categorize objects
Increased aggressive behavior
Right lobe damage can cause persistent talking
·Expression of intense emotions(e.g. intense anger at the slightest provocation)

Occipital Lobes

(www.neuroskills.com)

Responsible for visual reception.

Recognition of objects
Visual scanning
Effectively integrate symbols
Recall of visual images

Visual field impairments
Difficulty with locating objects in the environment
Difficulty with identifying colours
Production of visual hallucinations
Word blindness – inability to recognize words
Difficulty in recognizing drawn objects

Cerebellum

(www.neuroskills.com)

Primarily responsible for regulation of balance, breathing and posture.

Coordination of voluntary movement
Balance and equilibrium
Some memory for reflex motor actions

Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements
Loss of ability to walk
Inability to reach out and grab objects
Tremors
Dizziness
Slurred speech
Inability to make rapid movements

Effective Behavioural Strategies for Children and Youth with Acquired Brain Injury, Simcoe York Children With ABI Committee