Introduction
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a key health problem, especially amongst male teenagers and youthful adults ages 15 to 24, and among old people of both sexes 75 years and older. Children aged 5 and younger are also at a threat for TBI. Survivors of TBI are frequently left with major cognitive, behavioral, and communicative disabilities, and some patients build up long-term medical complications, such as epilepsy.
TBI, also known as acquired brain injury or head injury, occurs when an unexpected trauma causes damage to the brain. The damage can be focal – confined to one area of the brain – or diffuse – involving more than one area of the brain. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury. A closed injury occurs when the head abruptly and violently collides with an object but the object does not break through the skull. A penetrating injury occurs when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue.
The study of individuals with traumatic brain injury reveals the cognitive models of human behaviors by showing the relationship among consciousness, awareness, and behavior which are all interrelated with the mode in which the brain works. It also reveals that the brain is divided into two sides or hemispheres. For motor functions, sight, and hearing, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body (“contralateral”). Further, it shows that the two hemispheres of the brain do not function identically. For most right-handed persons, the left side of the brain controls language functions and the processing of verbal information. Generally, the right side of the brain processes visual and spatial information.
How is the brain constructed
The hemispheres of the brain are further divided into four lobes. They are the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Each one of these areas of the brain is accountable for a different function. The effect an injury to the brain will have on an individual depends in large part on where the injury occurs. The two areas most susceptible to injury by the forces involved when the brain is subjected to rapid acceleration/deceleration are the frontal and temporal lobes.
The frontal Lobe normally controls the higher cognitive functions of our brains which separate us from other life on the planet and give us our human character. The frontal lobe is thus accountable for consciousness and awareness that are related to goal-directed behavior and for cognitive flexibility. These include foresight, judgment, initiation, organization, planning, and execution. Patients with frontal lobe injury often display incapability to manage their emotions characterized by severe mood swings (“emotional liability”). They may also experience a loss of inhibition and difficulty maintaining concentration and attention. Significant injury to the frontal lobe will often result in profound personality changes.
The temporal lobe creates the consciousness of verbal and nonverbal auditory information and is responsible for our awareness of time. The hippocampus is located within the temporal lobe. The hippocampus plays a major role in the function of memory. Thus, damage to the temporal lobes can severely affect an individual’s ability to remember new information or to recall existing information. Damage in this area may also affect the victim’s ability to discriminate speech sounds and understand what they hear. Difficulty in remembering lately learned information is a frequent problem in people who have had traumatic brain injuries. The ability to recall remote information (long-term memory) is seldom affected, even in cases of moderate injury.
The parietal lobe enables individuals to figure out spatial information and differentiate shapes, sizes, and textures. Other functions comprise right/left differentiation, mathematical abilities, and the ability to express or comprehend emotion. Injury in this area interferes with reading, math, attention to the contralateral hemispace and results in a flattened affect. The perception and understanding of emotion in others may be compromised in some individuals with injuries in this area. The occipital lobe is located in the lower rear portion of the skull and controls the visual awareness of the individual. Damage to this area may lead to a lack of self-consciousness and awareness of visual information hence impairs the individual ability to understand and interpret visual information.
The study of individuals with TBI also has enabled the discovery of sophisticated machines that can assess the degree of the brain injury which further assists in diagnosing the program of the patient to be easy. For instance, cognitive assessment by visual electrons (cave), Wessex head injury matrix, smart, etc.