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Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago-Brain Injury Team, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, LIFE CENTER (page 1 of 3) Page 1 of 3
What Is Cognition?
Cognition is another word for thinking. Cognition is the process that is used to understand and interact with the world. Cognition is also used to describe how our brain functions to perceive and express our experiences.
What Is Meant by impaired Cognition?
Impaired cognition means that the skills and abilities that a person had before their accident or medical problem now either are absent or have some defect in some important way. There are special names for some of these impairments; for example, an impairment in language skills that makes it hard for people to speak or understand speech is called aphasia.
How Is Cognition Affected by Brain Injury?
Since a brain injury can affect any part of the brain, any of the thinking abilities the brain performs can be changed. Some of these abilities are attention, communication, visual perception (the ability to understand what we see) and memory. Very often, it is the parts of the brain located toward the front of the skull that are most severely damaged. People with damage in this area may have problems with attention and concentration, organization ability and the ability to remember things that have happened since their injury. People with damage in the front of the brain may lose their awareness of what they are doing or how others see them. They may seem inconsiderate and selfish like they don’t care how they make others feel. However, it is probably more accurate to say they are no longer aware of how they make other people feel.
How Does Brain Injury Affect the Way You Act and How You Feel?
Sometimes brain injuries damage the part of the brain that controls emotions. As a result, people may become angry much more easily than before and their anger may be much more forceful. Often, people with this problem feel embarrassed after an angry outburst because they know their reaction was inappropriate. Other people may laugh or cry at inappropriate times because of the same problem. Doctors describe this lack of control of emotions by a number of terms including “emotional lability” or “affective dysregulation”. People may also act before they think and may do and say things they would never have done or said before. Such behavior is sometimes described as “impulsivity” or “disinhibition”.
How Long Does It Take to Recover From a Brain Injury?
Recovery time depends on how severe the injury was. If someone was unconscious for less than thirty minutes, they will usually recover within three months. If someone was unconscious for more than 24 hours, their recovery may take up to a year. Recovery is usually most rapid in the days and weeks immediately after an injury (improvements can often be noticed from one day to another). Recovery slows down after a while (improvements may not be noticeable unless a comparison is made with how the person was a month ago). What Does It Mean to Be Recovered from a Brain Injury—What Is the Definition of Recovery? Rehabilitation helps people to recover but recovery may not mean being just like the person was before. One way to think of recovery is that the person with the injury (impairment) has acknowledged that there is a change, has learned techniques to do things differently or compensate for problems, and has decided to do as much in life as they can. It means enjoying life as much as possible and feeling good as a person while being aware of one's limitations. It means feeling valuable to others. It does not mean being exactly the same as "before the injury". Recovery is an ongoing process, and after all, everybody changes over time.
Will I Recover All of My Abilities After My Brain Injury?
It has always been very difficult to predict the amount of recovery some one has after brain injury. When someone has been hurt enough to be hospitalized and be unconscious for a long time, there are usually some lasting effects from the injury. But is it hard to predict how much they could interfere with your life. Depending upon how severe the injury is, the effects and changes to life can be permanent. In less severe cases, some functions may recover, while others remain weak, such as short-term memory. Either way, recovery can take a long time. At some point, it becomes hard to know if improvement comes from brain recovery or just learning to do things differently. Either way, improvement is possible and life goes on.
What Kind of Activities Can I Do in Everyday Life to Help Myself Recover from Brain Injury?
It's most important not to sit and wait for recovery to come to you, but to work at it. That's why therapies are so important, even after leaving the hospital. Keeping to a routine and staying active during and after therapies have stopped helps a lot. Think of the brain as a muscle. It will weaken if it is not exercised. Aside from therapy assignments, look for ways to stimulate thinking. Games, puzzles, reading and performing everyday tasks that offer mental challenge can be useful. Remember to try to strike a balance and not do too little or too much. Don't hesitate to ask for help and advice to get this balance right.
What Kind of Activities Could Make Recovery More Difficult or Interfere with Recovery?
Try to balance the level of mental stimulation during recovery. Slow down and do only one thing at a time. Use of nonprescribed drugs, especially recreational drugs and alcohol, can interfere with recovery. Aside from the direct effects these chemicals can have on the brain, they can impair judgement and put a person at risk for further injury. So be careful when using them, if at all, and consult with your doctor if you have questions about any particular substance. Of course, avoid risky activities (like extreme sports) that could cause another brain injury.
Copyright 2008 Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, LIFE Center, reprinted with permission.