Brain damage
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| Neuropsychology |
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| Topics |
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Brain-computer interfaces • Brain damage |
| Brain functions |
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arousal • attention |
| People |
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Arthur L. Benton • David Bohm • |
| Tests |
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Bender-Gestalt Test |
| Tools |
| Mind and Brain Portal |
Brain damage or brain injury is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells.
Brain damage may occur due to a wide range of conditions, illnesses, injuries, and as a result of iatrogenesis. Possible causes of widespread (diffuse) brain damage include prolonged hypoxia (shortage of oxygen), poisoning by teratogens (including alcohol), infection, and neurological illness. Chemotherapy can cause brain damage to the neural stem cells and oligodendrocyte cells that produce myelin. Common causes of focal or localized brain damage are physical trauma (traumatic brain injury), stroke, aneurysm, surgery, or neurological illness.
The extent and effect of brain injury is often assessed by the use of neurological examination, neuroimaging, and neuropsychological assessment.
Brain injury does not necessarily result in long-term impairment or disability, although the location and extent of damage both have a significant effect on the likely outcome. In serious cases of brain injury, the result can be permanent disability, including neurocognitive deficits, delusions (often specifically monothematic delusions), speech or movement problems, and mental handicap. There may also be personality changes. Severe brain damage may result in persistent vegetative state, coma, or death.
Various professions may be involved in the medical care and rehabilitation of someone who suffers impairment after brain damage. Neurologists, neurosurgeons, and physiatrists are physicians who specialise in treating brain injury. Neuropsychologists (especially clinical neuropsychologists) are psychologists who specialise in understanding the effects of brain injury and may be involved in assessing the extent of brain damage or creating rehabilitation programmes. Occupational therapists may be involved in running rehabilitation programs to help restore lost function or help re-learn essential skills.
It is a common misconception that brain damage sustained during childhood has a better chance of successful recovery than similar injury acquired in adult life. It is contested that in recent studies, severe brain damage inflicted upon children can be alleviated by the interaction of nicotinamide repropagation in nerve cells. In fact, the consequences of childhood injury may simply be more difficult to detect in the short term. This is because different cortical areas mature at different stages, with some major cell populations and their corresponding cognitive faculties remaining unrefined until early adulthood. In the case of a child with frontal brain injury, for example, the impact of the damage may be undetectable until that child fails to develop normal executive functions in his or her late teens and early twenties.
The effects of impairment or disability resulting from brain injury may be treated by a number of methods, including medication, psychotherapy, neuropsychological rehabilitation, snoezelen, surgery, or physical implants such as deep brain stimulation.
See also
- Cerebral Palsy
- Epilepsy
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Head injury
- Lobotomy
- Neurocognitive deficit
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation (neuropsychology)
- Traumatic brain injury
References
External links
- Head and Brain Injuries from MedlinePlus
- Dr.Diane.com Information on brain injury and related rehabilitation services.
- Fact sheets on brain damage, its effects, and strategies for survivors and their families
- Brain Damage Research from ScienceDaily
- TBI Resource Guide Central source of information, services and products relating to brain injury, brain injury recovery, and post-acute rehabilitation.
- Recovery from Acquired Brain Injury from the Psychology Wiki
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Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
