Show More than just a U bump head fI TJ Shar Brannam Contributing Writer What used to be termed asa as asa asa a head injury is now known as either Traumatic Brain Injury or Acquired Brain Injury ABI and the symptoms of either never simply go away or heal completely is usually caused by blows or trauma to the head while ABI is caused 1 by partial or complete oxygen loss to the brain Either condition can lead to a lifetime of emotional physical or mental impairments According to Dr Muriel D. D Lezak creator of the second edi edition tion 0 of the national N Neuropsychological e u r 0 p s y c h 0 log i c a I Assessment test impairments caused by brain injury can be characterized in terms of three functional systems 1 intellect which is the information- information handling aspect of behavior 2 emotionality which concerns feelings and motivations and 3 control which has to do with how behavior is expressed Brain damage rarely affects just one of these symptoms Rather the disruptive effects of most brain injuries regardless of their size or location Brain BraiD damage Continued on page 2 Brain damage Continued from page 1 usually involve all three systems ms stated Lezak Brain injuries are classified as mild moderate or severe Even a mild brain injury can cause problems such as fatigue disorganization and an inability to concentrate Living with a brain injury affects not only the individual but the entire family of that person Frontal lobe injury is most common with an anoxic complete loss of oxygen to the brain injury The frontal lobe of the brain is essentially the personality of a person When oxygen to the brain is reduced or orcut orcut orcut cut off for more than two minutes brain damage will occur Near-drowning Near is the leading cause of an ABI while car and bicycle crashes are the leading causes of In the case of a near- near drowning victim brain injuries often go undetected since there is often no immediate signs that brain damage has actually occurred Brain injuries sustained by children often manifest themselves when the child hits puberty and must now rely on the frontal lobe of the brain to tomake tomake tomake make decisions For an individual who suffers a brain injury especially an ABI temperament control can become a huge problem Emotional outbursts crying and anger are common symptoms in even mild mild frontal lobe injuries Once J Ja a person receives a brain injury it is unlikely their lives will ever return to a previous sf state te Rea Reduced l e oxygen supply for even eve even a a short span of time can lead to serious problems with cognitive skills physical problems and or a lifetime of a complex rage of psychological afflictions such as depression disorganization and apathy just to name a few Treatment of brain injuries is very limited d dand and the recovery can be completely unpredictable Many individuals suffer from mild brain injuries s yet have never been diagnosed |