According to the Brain&Spinalcord.org., 1.4 million Americans suffer brain injuries every year, commonly due to car accidents, though they can also be caused by insufficient oxygen, poisoning and infections. The most common form of brain injury is Minimal Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI). Approximately 25 percent of patients suffer from the more severe form, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Besides physical symptoms such as headaches, vomiting and pain, brain injury patients can also suffer from problems related to learning, thinking, memory, attention and language.
Aphasia
Aphasia is a communication disorder that impairs a person's ability to process language. This disorder is exceedingly common among brain injury patients. There are many different types of aphasia, depending largely on the area of the brain that was injured, though aphasia typically involves the left hemisphere. Aphasia patients may have problems in understanding or producing language. The problems might also be related to writing and reading. Some patients are aware of their problems, and some believe that their language abilities are quite normal. Patients who are not aware of their problems can understandably feel frustrated when they are unable to communicate with other people. According to The National Aphasia Association, if aphasia symptoms last longer than two months, it is unlikely that the patient will ever recover fully, though many patients continue to develop their language abilities for many years.
Memory Problems
Memory disturbances are the most persistent problem following a brain injury to the temporal and basal-frontal regions or hippocampus areas, all of which are associated with memory. According to a study was published in "The New Zealand Medical Journal" in January of 2008, 69 to 80 percent of individuals with brain injuries have memory-related problems. The study explains that typical memory problems in brain injury patients include attention, encoding, storage and retrieval of information. It is possible for the patient to have difficulties in any one or more of these processes. The patient can also lose her memory altogether. Many brain injury patients do not remember anything of the few minutes or even hours prior to the accident. This kind of short-term memory lost, or amnesia, does not typically last long. It is possible that after a while the patient gets at least part of her memories back. In some patients, memories of the events that occurred before the injury may be intact, but they cannot remember anything that occurred since the injury.
Executive Functions
Executive functions are used to anticipate future needs, make plans, set goals, regulate impulses and foresee the consequences of actions. A study published in the “Neuropsychological Rehabilitation” in 2008 showed that many brain injury patients seem to recover in all aspects of their cognition. These patients have normal language abilities--they can focus, learn and remember--but, surprisingly, they cannot decide what they should do after waking up, and what would be the first thing to do if they want to have breakfast. Executive function deficits are usually caused by an injury to the frontal lobe.
References
- Brain&Spinalcord.org: Brain Injury Statistics
- Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center: Cognitive Problems After Traumatic Brain Injury
- The National Aphasia Association: Aphasia Frequently Asked Questions
- Oregon.gov: What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
- "Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Journal": Intervention for executive functions after traumatic brain injury: A systematic review, meta-analysis and clinical recommendations
