Brain Map

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Brain Map

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The brain has many parts including the cerebral cortex, brain stem and cerebellum. The brain is a very complex organ, it regulates every aspect of human behavior. Everything about ourselves and the environment is experienced through the brain. It has been described as a three pound universe. It is thought to house the seat of the self, the place where the sense of self resides.

Damage to the hippocampus interferes with the ability to store
new memories. Likewise, the ability to use language recognize familiar faces, to count, read and many other higher functions are depemdamt on intact memory functions.Impairments in such basic functions are fundamental to personal identity.

Wipe out one part of the brain and the person speaks fluent giberish; other damage interferes with the ability to recognize familiar faces.

The following represents primary brain functions and some of the common problems that result from brain injury. The brain functions as a interrelated whole, however injury may disrupt a portion of an activity that occurs in a specific part of the brain.

Terms in parenthesis are the technical terms used to describe certain deficits. Click here to see a cross section of the brain. Refer to our TBI Glossary for additional details.

Check our Health page for additional health and medical resources.

Click here or scroll down to go to the Brain Map below

Illustration by McKenzie Illustrations

Frontal Lobe
Functions: Located, right under the forehead (anterior) the frontal lobes are involved in tracking and sense of self. Additionally, they're involved in arousal and initiations well as consciousness of environment reaction to self and environment Executive functioning and judgments Emotional response and stability Language usage Personality Word associations and meaning Memory for habits motor activity	Impairments caused by head injury: Sequencing - difficulties planning and completing complex tasks in correct order, such as making coffee. Perseveration - repeating same actions and comments over without conscious awareness of having done so. Loss of spontaneity in interacting with others. Loss of flexibility in thinking, (mental rigidity). Distractibility - easily distracted Attention - difficulty focusing on tasks Concentration difficulties Mood swings - (emotional lability) Changes in personality and social behavior Diminished abstract reasoning - imagination Difficulty with problem solving Expressive difficulties - language useage and word finding (Broca's Aphasia) Loss of simple movement of various body parts (paralysis)
Parietal Lobe
Functions: located near the back and top of the head the Parietal lobe is involved in: Visual perception Tactile or touch perception Object manipulation Integration of sensory information that allow for understanding of a single concept Goal-directed voluntary movements	Impairments caused by head injury: Inability to name objects (Anomia) Inability to write words (Agraphia) Inability to attend to more than one object at a time Inability to focus visual attention Problems with reading (Alexia) Poor hand-eye coordination Confusing left-right orientation Difficulty performing math calculations (Dyscalculia) Difficulty drawing Poor visual perception Lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or surrounding space (Apraxia) that leads to difficulties in self-care.
Temporal Lobes
Functions: Located on the Side of the head above ears The temporal Lobes have to do with Intellect Auditory perception (hearing) Long-term memory Some visual perception Object categorization	Impairments caused by head injury: Difficulty remembering names and faces (Prosopagnosia) Difficulty understanding spoken words (Wernicke's Aphasia) Difficulty with identification of, and verbalization about objects. Difficulty with concentration Short-term memory loss Interference with long-term memory Aggressive behavior Change in sexual interest Persistent talking (damage to right lobe) Difficulty locating objects in environment. Inability to catagorize objects (Catagorization) Religiosity Seizure disorders, auras and strange reveries
Occipital Lobes
Functions: Located at the back of the head (Posterior) Visual perception	Limitations: Visual defects (Visual Field Cuts) Difficulty recognizing colors (Color Agnosia) Hallucinations Visual illusions - inaccurately seeing objects. Word blindness - inability to recognize words Difficulty recognizing drawn objects Difficulty perceiving movement (Movement Agnosia) Loss of academic skills (reading, writing)

National Institutes of Health Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitation Consensus Statement, October 1998. Print from the internet, or request your free copy by toll-free telephone 888-644-2667.

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