Brain trauma, which involves damage to the brain tissue, affects about 1.7 million people each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Damage to the brain can occur even if the injury does not fracture the skull. The brain trauma can range from mild to severe, which may involve a loss of consciousness. Some of the effects of brain trauma affect the patient's functioning and require rehabilitation.
Memory Loss
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) states that memory problems can occur with mild brain injury. With moderate or severe brain injury, a patient has more serious memory loss. Memory loss occurs after damage to specific areas of the brain. For example, damage to the temporal lobe, the brain lobe located by the ears, results in short-term memory and long-term memory problems, according to BrainInjury.com.
Language Problems
Brain trauma can also affect a patient's language abilities. The type of language problem that a patient has depends on the location of the brain trauma. For example, BrainInjury.com notes that frontal lobe damage can cause problems with expressing language and forming coherent sentences. Damage to the parietal lobe, which is located above the temporal lobe, can result in problems reading, naming an object and locating words in text. Temporal lobe damage affects a patient's ability to comprehend language. Word blindness and problems with writing can occur after damage to the occipital lobe, located at the back of the head.
Motor Problems
The NINDS notes that with moderate or severe brain trauma, a patient can have numbness and loss of coordination. These balance and sensation problems can make it difficult for the patient to walk. Damage to the frontal lobe may cause paralysis, and damage to the parietal lobe may result in the patient being unaware of certain body parts, a condition called apraxia. Brain trauma can also affect the patient's eyes, causing pupil dilation and blurred vision.
Seizures
Brain trauma may cause seizures, in which the patient has abnormal brain electrical activity, according to the NINDS. During a seizure, the patient may lose consciousness, which can result in confusion. Some types of seizures, like generalized tonic-clonic seizures, cause the patient to shake uncontrollably, which may result in injury, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Brain trauma may also cause headaches, confusion, dizziness and lightheadness.
