Frontal Lobe Brain Injury Prognosis

The frontal lobe is a large section of the brain located behind a person's forehead. This area is the most likely site of injury when a brain trauma occurs. A wide variety of symptoms may arise when the frontal lobe is damaged.

Considerations

• Many factors affect the prognosis for a frontal lobe brain injury. If the patient goes into a coma, the longer the coma lasts the longer the recovery will be. If a coma is short or the injury is mild, recovery may be quicker and symptoms may disappear or significantly lessen over time.

Thought Processing

• An injury to the frontal lobe of the brain can result in an inability to sequence the actions needed to complete a task, like making toast or doing laundry. Victims may also experience the persistence of a single thought or the inability to focus on a task.

Behavior

• Frontal lobe brain injuries can lead to aggressive behavior, increased impulsive behaviors and lethargy.

Emotions

• Damage to the frontal lobe can affect a person's ability to regulate their emotions, leading to dramatic mood swings.

Rehabilitation

• Victims of a frontal lobe injury may regain some of the mental abilities that were affected by their brain trauma. Patients often show improvement over time with regular treatment. However, for more serious injuries, symptoms may be permanent or reach a plateau in treatment.