The brain is a complex organ and it can be injured in a number of different ways, from a simple blow to the head, after a fall, or by disease or infection. How a person’s behavior will change after receiving a brain injury or trauma though depends very much upon which area of the brain has been damaged, as different parts of the brain control different bodily functions and impulses.

For those who suffer a brain injury to the frontal lobe (by say a severe blow to the forehead) there may be a loss of movement to various body parts, in many cases temporary but disturbing nevertheless. Such patients may also suddenly have difficulty completing simple multi step tasks like making a cup coffee and their overall thinking may become cloudy and confused, making it hard for them to participate in even the simplest of conversations. Mood swings are also common in patients who have suffered frontal lobe trauma. Even after they are “recovered” patients who have suffered a frontal lobe injury retain certain difficulties caused by the condition. For instance, a study done in the early 1990s indicated that 92% of such patients experienced some permanent loss of the ability to smell.

Injury to the occipital Lobes, which are located at the back of the head, can cause serious visual disturbances and lead to the patient no longer being able to recognize even the most common of objects, as well as experiencing hallucinations, seeing objects that are really not there. Many such people develop difficulties reading and writing properly and may lose their ability to distinguish colors from one another.

Temporal lobe brain injury often leads to short term memory loss, unusually aggressive and talkative behavior and an inability to recognize speech patterns or categorize objects properly. The temporal lobes are located behind the ears.

One of the most debilitating brain injuries is a trauma to the brain stem itself, located deep inside the body. This can make even breathing difficult and patients may have difficulty swallowing even a simple glass of water. They often have difficulties understanding their environment and experience frequent dizziness and nausea.

An injury to the base of the skull, the cerebellum, most often affects basic movement and motor skills. Such injuries may cause a patient to experience a loss of fine motor skills and their speech often becomes slurred and incomprehensible at times. Dizziness and tremors are common and some patients even lose the ability to walk after an injury to the cerebellum.