Interactive Brain

Located behind the forehead, the frontal lobes are the largest lobes of the brain. They are prone to injury because they sit just inside the front of the skull and near rough bony ridges. These two lobes are involved in:

• planning & organizing
• problem solving & decision making
• memory & attention
• controlling behavior, emotions & impulses

The left frontal lobe plays a large role in speech and language.

Problems After Injury

Injury to the frontal lobes may affect:

• emotions & impulses
• language
• memory
• social and sexual behavior

The temporal lobes are located on the sides of the brain under the parietal lobes and behind the frontal lobes at about the level of the ears. They are responsible for:

• recognizing and processing sound
• understanding and producing speech
• various aspects of memory

Problems After Injury

Damage to specific parts of the temporal lobe can result in:

• hearing loss
• language problems
• sensory problems like the inability to recognize a familiar person’s face

Located at the back of the brain, the cerebellum controls:

• balance
• movement
• coordination

The cerebellum also allows us to:

• stand upright
• keep our balance
• move around

Problems After Injury

Damage to the cerebellum can result in:

• uncoordinated movement
• loss of muscle tone
• an unsteady gait

Located below the thalamus and above the brain stem, the hypothalamus:

• helps us regulate body temperature
• helps us realize when we are hungry or thirsty
• plays a role in what mood we might be feeling
• releases and controls many hormones that we need to function

Injury to the hypothalamus may affect:

• sex drive
• sleep
• hunger
• thirst
• emotions

Located near the hippocampus in the frontal portion of the temporal lobes, the amygdala:

• are invovled in the formation and storage of information related to emotional events
• facilitate long-term memory formation
• convert and retain learning from pleasure responses
• help us recognize when we are in danger or fearful of something

Injury to the amygdala may affect:

• memory formation
• emotional sensitivity
• learning and rentention
• depression
• anxiety