Head injury in any form can cause unpleasant side effects for the victim. Depending on the area of the brain that ends up harmed, it can cause different experiences for people, too.
What happens when the frontal lobe gets injured? What impacts do victims experience?
What is the frontal lobe?
Physiopedia discusses how damage to the frontal lobe affects the rest of a person. This area of the brain makes up a third of the brain’s total weight and includes a number of crucial points of function. Some parts include the prefrontal cortex, the motor and premotor cortexes, the supplementary motor cortex, Broca’s Area and the frontal eye fields.
These areas impact and influence different parts of a person’s physical, mental and emotional capabilities. For example, Broca’s Area handles the motor control of speech, while the frontal eye fields control voluntary scanning movements that the eyes make.
The influence of damage
Many of the impacts of frontal lobe injury and damage thus relate to the areas of the body and health that these parts of the brain control. For example, the prefrontal cortex controls emotional regulation and impulse control. Thus, many victims find themselves struggling with their temper and may even lash out at their loved ones, even if this is highly unusual for them.
Another common impact involves the memory, which gets processed in the frontal lobe. Victims can struggle with memory retention and formation for months after an injury, though these impacts can last years or even a lifetime, forcing the victim to restructure how they live.
As with any other head injury, the effects can have long-lasting and emotional consequences on the sufferer.