Neuroanatomy, Brain Lesion

Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z u Right Hemispheric Damage PAGEREF _Toc380607432 h 1Left Hemispheric Damage PAGEREF _Toc380607433 h 2Brain Hemisphere in Children PAGEREF _Toc380607434 h 2

Brain lesion is an area where injury or damage of brain tissues has occurred. The symptom of brain lesion varies depending on the type, location and size of the lesion (Huttenlocher, 2002). Some common brain lesions include: Abscesses which is a brain lesion that occurs after an injury to the skull. Multiple Sclerosis is a brain lesion that damages the nerve linings in a brain and the spinal cord. These lesions affect the way messages are sent and received within the body. Cerebral infarction is a brain lesion which brain cells die due to lack of blood while a Tumor is a clump of cells that grow abnormally in metastatic or from the brain.

The brain is divided into right and left hemispheres brain; each hemisphere has its behaviors’ and communicates through corpus collosum. CITATION Pet02 l 1033 (Huttenlocher, 2002). The left side hemisphere (LH) controls muscles on the right side of body and the right side hemisphere (RH) controls muscles on the left side of body.

Right Hemispheric DamageThe right hemisphere brain injury is the injury to the right side of the brain. The right side hemisphere controls cognitive functioning hence, injury to this side leads to cognitive communication problems.

Adults with a right hemisphere brain damage undergo anosognosia and asprosodia. They lack concentration in their work. The (RH) damage produces a left homonymous hemianopsia thereby leading patients to neglect the left side of their bodies CITATION Pet02 l 1033 (Huttenlocher, 2002). They have impaired visual spatial skills and, partial paralysis may occur. Thus they do not see things in the left for instance: a patient reads from the center and not from the left side of a page. The right hemisphere brain damage leads to loss of memory and even disorientation of oneself. They are dominant in the perception of emotional information. They reason poorly and cannot solve common problems .when left unsupervised they can cause injury to themselves and to others.

Left Hemispheric Damage

Adults with left hemisphere brain damage cannot recognize or recall any familiar input, order of information, conceptual of actual plans and formulation of motor. Persons with left brain damage cannot remember any personal information and get frustrated easily. They are much disorganized and show problems in speech, memory, writing and cognitive processing. The reading and speech loss can be rehabilitated with a speech therapy. (LH) injury may produce a right hemianopsia whereby patients will neglect the right sides of the bodies and spaces..

Brain Hemisphere in ChildrenThe right hemisphere brain damage in children is more delicate and do not follow the adult with RH damage pattern CITATION Pet02 l 1033 (Huttenlocher, 2002). Right hemisphere brain damage is specialized early in lives of children CITATION Wil08 l 1033 (Sons, 2008). The cognitive functions like visual spatial and comprehensiveness of oneself is affected. Children with focal brain lesions experience speech delay in both right and left hemisphere. They try to express themselves and, due to Lack of an understandable language it is hard to adhere to their needs CITATION Pet02 l 1033 (Huttenlocher, 2002). After brain injury in children, there is plasticity in the developing of the right hemisphere that allows reorganization and may account for good malfunction recovery (Reynolds & Janzen, 2009).

Focal damage of brain leads to aphasia in adults and not in children, because brain focal only affects children when they are very young but at a later age in life it are reversible. Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and cerebral palsy (CP) are types of brain lesions that occur to children. A CP is a brain lesion that happens when babies are still in the womb and affects the baby’s ability to move. While AVM brain lesions occurs during early development and may cause seizures.

With all the hemispheres brain neuroimaging should be done to research and diagnose to the needs of the patient.

REFERENCE

Huttenlocher, P. R. (2002). Neural plasticity : The Effects of Environment on the Development of the Cerebral Cortex. UK: Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press.

Reynolds, C. R., & Janzen, E. F. (2009). Handbook of clinical child neuropsychology. TX USA: A&M University.

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Sons, W. &. (2008). Child Neuropsychology: Concepts, Theory, and Practice. UK: Blackwell publishing ltd.