Brain Damage & Behavior

1. Brain Damage &
Behavior

2. Video

3. Localized Brain Damage
The Phineas Gage Case:
In the 1800s, a rod was shot
through his head.
The doctor was amazed
that he survived the
accident.While talking to
the doctor, part of his
brain fell out.
When he recovered, people said Phineas
didn’t act like himself anymore. His behavior
and personality had changed.

4. Localized Brain Damage
Phineas is an early case study for
localized brain damage: damage that
affects only a certain area of the brain.
Localized damage is commonly
associated with an injury in which the
head strikes or is struck by an object.
The opposite of localized brain damage
is diffuse brain damage: damage that
covers a widespread area in the brain
(this is less common). Diffuse brain
damage is usually due to the death of
brain tissue due to disease.

5. Brain Structure
• The “Old Brain” (or “Reptilian Brain”) is the part of the
brain that controls eating, breathing, and sleeping. It is common
to all vertebrates.The evolution of the “old brain” dates back
500 million years.
• “The Midbrain” controls vision, hearing, motor control,
alertness, and temperature regulation.

6. Brain Structure
The “New Brain” is the cerebral
cortex: the outer layer of nerve tissue
in our brains. It controls memory,
attention, perceptual awareness,
thought, language, and consciousness.
The cerebral cortex is the part of the
brain that allows us to reason and that
gives us personality..

7. Brain Structure

8. Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
Frontal Lobe:
The function of
the frontal lobe
involves the
ability to
recognize future consequences,
the choice between good and bad
actions, the differentiation
between bad/good/better/best, the
suppression of socially
unacceptable behavior, and the
ability to determine similarities
and differences. It also helps us
retain long term memories.

9. Localized Brain Damage
Damage to the frontal lobe:
Generally, damage to the frontal lobe causes loss of the ability to solve
problems and to plan and initiate actions, such as answering a complex
question. The frontal lobe also helps govern personality, impulsivity,
and our ability to tell good from bad. If damaged, a person may find he
cannot control his anger or aggression. He may also make
inappropriate comments to friends or strangers not realizing they
are inappropriate.
When did he
become so rude
and socially
inappropriate?

10. Damage to the middle back part of
the left frontal lobe (Broca’s area)
causes people to have difficulty
expressing themselves in words.They
understand what people are saying
and think clearly, but cannot make
speech leave their mouths.They
know what they want to say, but
can’t make the words come out.
Video 1: Broca’s
Aphasia
Wernicke's area is located where
the temporal lobe and frontal lobe
meet. Like Broca’s area, it is involved
in speech production. If someone
has damage in this area, they
understand what people are saying
and think clearly, but they speak
rapidly in gibberish, not knowing
that they are producing incorrect
words.
Video 2: Wernicke's
Aphasia

11. Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
Parietal Lobe:
It allows us to
recognize
objects by
touch alone,
manipulate objects with our
hands, and understand how
objects are positioned in
space around us (spatial
understanding). It also allows
us to understand and
manipulate numbers.

12. Localized Brain Damage
Damage to the parietal lobe:
Affected people have difficulty identifying a
sensation's location (where pain is coming
from) and type (they can’t tell if they are
feeling something hot or cold). People may
have difficulty recognizing objects by touch.
They may not be able to tell right from left,
and have problems with calculations and
writing.They may have problems sensing
where parts of their body are. If the right
parietal lobe is damaged, people may be
unable to do simple tasks, such as combing
their hair or dressing.They have trouble
understanding space, and as a result may get
lost in their own neighborhood.

13. Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
Temporal
Lobe:
Involved in
smell, sound,
vision, and memory. Allows us
to form, store, and retrieve
long-term memories. It includes
the auditory association area,
which allows us to process
sounds and comprehend
speech.This lobe gives us the
ability to recognize and name
people and objects.

14. Localized Brain Damage
Damage to the temporal lobe:
Part of the left temporal lobe
controls language comprehension. If
that part is damaged, memory for
words can be drastically impaired. If
certain areas of the right temporal
lobe are damaged, memory for
sounds and music may be impaired.
As a result, people may have trouble
singing. Sometimes damage can cause
personality changes such as
humorlessness, extreme religiosity,
and obsessiveness. Those
affected may not be able to control
their feelings or to think clearly. HUMORLESS

15. Lobes of the Cerebral Cortex
Occipital
Lobe:
The primary
visual
processing center of the
brain, the occipital lobe
allows you to process and
understand what you are
seeing.This lobe allows us
to differentiate between
different colors and
perceive motion.

16. Localized Brain Damage
Damage to the occipital lobe:
The occipital lobe contains the main center
for processing visual information. If the
occipital lobe on both sides of the brain is
damaged, people cannot see, even though the
eyes themselves are functioning normally. If
the front part is damaged, people have
difficulty recognizing familiar objects and faces
and accurately interpreting what they see.
http://www.merckmanuals.com

17. “Face Blindness”
Video

18. Types of Brain Damage
Physical
Trauma
Blunt force to the head. Example causes: Concussion. The tearing of
brain structures from shaking or strong rotation of the head. The impact
of a bullet, knife or other sharp object, etc. (Can be localized or diffuse).
Anoxic/
Hypoxic Brain
Injury
This is when the brain does not receive any oxygen (anoxic) or enough
oxygen (hypoxic), causing brain cells to die. Example causes: suffocation
or near-drowing experiences. This type of damage is diffuse (not
localized).
Stroke
Like the above, stroke occurs when there is a lack of blood-supply to the
brain, preventing brain cells from getting oxygen. Clotted blood vessels
or internal bleeding in the brain may be the cause. Stroke damage is
localized (not diffuse).
Brain Tumor Tumors in the brain can put pressure on certain areas, causing brain
damage similar to the kinds that results from a traumatic brain injury.
Disease Infections in the brain cause inflammation that puts pressure in localized
areas. Diseases with unknown causes cause brain cells to die.

19. Stroke
A stroke is the loss of brain function due to a lack of
blood-supply to the brain. It is caused by clotted (blocked)
blood vessels, internal bleeding in the brain,
or other complications that arise as side-effects of certain
diseases. After a stroke, the affected area of the brain
cannot function normally. Stroke creates localized damage.
1 in 6 people worldwide will have a stroke in their lifetime

20. Tumor
Tumors in the brain can put pressure on certain areas,
causing brain damage similar to the kinds that results from a
traumatic brain injury. Language and communication, emotion
and personality, learning and memory, attention and
concentration, and intellectual abilities can all be affected in
negative ways. A tumor is an abnormal tissue growth.

21. Diseases
List of diseases that cause brain damage:
1. Meningitis: inflammation of the lining around the brain or spinal
cord, usually due to infection.
2. Encephalitis: inflammation of the brain tissue, usually due to a viral
infection.
3. Epilepsy: recurring seizures caused by abnormal and excessive
electrical activity in the brain.
4. Brain abscess: an infected area in the brain, usually caused by
bacteria.
5. Alzheimer's disease or dementia: memory loss due to death of
brain cells.
6. Multiple Sclerosis: destruction of nerve fibers that causes
communication problems between your brain and the rest
of your body.
7. Parkinson's disease: motor control loss due to death of brain cells.

22. Normal Brain Alzheimer's Brain
Slow deterioration of
brain cells over time.

23. Diseases
Bonus! Ms. Georgi
demonstrates what can
happen when
inflammation in your
brain presses down on
your facial nerve…
Video

24. Research Challenge:
Choose one of the following questions, and conduct
research online to seek an answer. Be prepared to
describe your findings to the class.
Does watching too much TV damage your brain?
Does extreme stress damage your brain?
Does too much sugar cause brain damage?
Does a high fever cause brain damage?
Does radiation from cell phones cause brain damage?