Temporal Lobe Disorder

The temporal lobes are responsible for the function of auditory perception, understanding language, visual memory, recalling facts and emotion. Forgetfulness and difficulty communicating are some signs of temporal lobe disorder. Other disorders that involve the temporal lobe include agnosia and amnesia. Aphasia is the most common language disorder among older people according to the Merck Medical Manual Online.

Facts

• Brain dysfunction may be widespread over several parts of the brain or localized to one area. Disorders that may occur in individual areas of the brain include tumors, strokes, seizures or other disorders that reduce blood and oxygen levels to the brain, states Merck. The right and left hemispheres of the brain control different functions of the body.

Aphasia Disorder

• With Wernicke's---receptive--aphasia, you will have difficulty understanding spoken and written language and sentences often come out fluent but garbled. Stroke, tumors, head injury and brain infection may cause aphasia. Complete---global---aphasia occurs when both the left temporal and frontal lobes are damaged and you may not be able to understand, speak or write language.

Other Disorders

• Agnosia is a relatively rare disorder, states Merck, and it develops quickly after head injury or stroke. Auditory agnosia is when you cannot recognize sounds even though you hear them. Amnesia is memory loss and can occur after damage to any part of the brain including the temporal lobe. Seizures in the temporal lobe may cause transient global amnesia, which is temporary amnesia that results in the inability to recall new and past events and people.

Symptoms

• The faster the progression of the disorder, the sooner symptoms will be noticed. If the right hemisphere of the temporal lobe is damaged, memory for sounds and shapes is impaired, states Merck. If it is the left hemisphere, memory for words is hindered as well as the ability to understand language. Other symptoms of damage may include personality changes such as humorlessness, extreme religiosity and loss of libido. Complex partial seizures may accompany uncontrolled feelings and autonomic, cognitive, or emotional dysfunction in people with epileptogenic foci---localized areas responsible for abnormal electrical signals that cause seizures--in some areas of the temporal lobe, notes Merck.

Treatment/Recovery

• Speech therapy is a common treatment for aphasia. Most recovery of language skills occurs within three months of treatment but may still occur after six months. No specific treatment is available for agnosia; however, in some cases recovery may happen spontaneously. Most amnesias last a short time and most people recover without treatment; however, some people can never form new memories. As Merck explains, the more gradual the progression of dysfunction, the more opportunity the brain has to compensate for the damage. Undamaged areas of the brain may take over the function of the damaged area contributing to the patient's recovery.