Frontal lobe brain damage affects motor control, self-awareness, planning, and behavior. Damage to the primary motor cortex can cause paralysis on the opposite side of the body. Broca’s area controls speech and damage can cause Broca’s aphasia. Patients may also have problems with spontaneity and altering strategies. A loss of self-awareness and planning difficulty are common.
As the name indicates, the frontal lobe is located towards the front of the brain. Frontal lobe brain damage is caused by injury and trauma that occurs in the front of the head, resulting in brain injury. Although it is involved in various brain functions, such as planning, self-awareness, altering strategies, and spontaneous behavior, the primary function of the frontal lobe is motor control. Frontal lobe brain damage is defined by specific deficiencies in behavior, including motor impairment, loss of spontaneity, and difficulty modifying strategies. The damage can also lead to a lack of self-awareness, problems with planning, and Broca’s aphasia, a condition that causes slurred speech.
Located towards the back of the frontal lobe is the primary motor cortex, which is made up of many different neurons that are connected to different muscles throughout the body. As such, this region of the brain is directly involved in motor function and muscle control. The connection between the primary motor cortex and the different muscles is contralateral, meaning that the right primary motor cortex controls the left side of the body and the left primary motor cortex controls the right side of the body. Because of this contralateral connection, damage to the primary motor cortex produces paralysis, or a loss of motion, on the side of the body opposite where the frontal lobe brain damage occurred.
Frontal lobe brain damage can also cause deficiencies in other behavioral responses, such as slowed thought processes and a lack of spontaneity. A patient with this type of deficiency may still react to events in her environment, but will demonstrate difficulty initiating the behavior. This type of brain damage can also cause patients to have problems altering strategies and applying new strategies to different problems.
On the left region of the frontal lobe is Broca’s area. Broca’s area controls the muscles involved in speech, and many neurons in this area contain memory sequences for the muscle movements needed to pronounce words. When this area is damaged, a patient will suffer from a condition called Broca’s aphasia, a condition that causes speech impairment. The patient will have difficulty repeating words and naming objects, but understanding of words will remain intact.
Additionally, there are a number of problems that can develop as a result of frontal lobe brain damage. A loss of self-awareness may become more evident, and patients with damaged frontal lobes are considered to have bland personalities. These people become indifferent to events that should otherwise have an emotional effect. Frontal lobe brain damage causes many deficits, but one of the most serious is planning difficulty. This type of deficit makes daily life a struggle, where simple tasks, like keeping a job, become a challenge.
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