Personality Change Due to Head Trauma

Since the brain is the organ of thought that controls the rest of the body, traumatic brain injury can often result in changes of thought and behavior which transform the personality in noticeable ways.

Types

• Brain injuries can affect the frontal lobe (near the forehead), the temporal lobes (on the side of the head), the parietal lobe (at the upper back of the head), the occipital lobe (at the very back of the head), the cerebellum (at the top of the neck), or the brain stem (in the center of the brain), according to braininjury.com.

Effects

• Frontal lobe injuries in particular can cause personality changes, including apathy, lack of inhibition, aggression and paranoia, according to an article in the The Journal of Neurophychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. It may become difficult to make and execute plans or maintain attention.

Prevention/Solution

• The effects of brain injury generally lessen over time, but often do not ever go away entirely. Psychotherapy and medication are often used to treat the symptoms, according to brainandspinalcord.org.

Warning

• Long-term conditions can develop years after the injury that are nonetheless related to the initial injury, including dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, according to brainandspinalcord.org.

Famous Ties

• Muhammad Ali suffered from Parkinson's disease, and it was suspected that this ultimately resulted from a brain injury while fighting, according to the Center for Neurobehavioral Health.