Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsAnatomyCausesLong-Term EffectsTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Anatomy
Causes
Long-Term Effects
Treatment
Trauma or injury to the frontal lobe of your brain can cause a wide range of problems and changes to your personality. That’s because the frontal lobe is responsible for shaping social behavior and personal characteristics. It controls things such as personality, decision-making, motivation, and voluntary movements.
This article discusses the functions of the frontal lobe and how it can be injured. It also covers the long-term effects of frontal lobe injuries and how they can be treated.
Caiaimage / Trevor Adeline / Getty Images
Anatomy of the Frontal Lobe
The brain is divided into lobes, or sections:frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal,limbicand insular cortex.
The frontal lobe lies at the front of the brain. It starts right behind the eyebrows, traveling up the forehead, and covering about a third of the top of your head.
The left and right sides of the frontal lobe handle some different functions and this can sometimes vary per person. The right frontal lobe is primarily associated with non-verbal skills, such as interpreting social cues or observing people’s reactions. The left frontal lobe generally has greater control over speech.
However, about one-third of people who are left-handed have speech function located on the right side instead of the left.
The right and left sides of the frontal lobe communicate with each other.
Recap
The Anatomy of the Brain
Causes of Head Trauma
If the skull fractures, it’s called an open injury. An open skull fracture over the frontal lobe may push bone fragments into brain tissue.It also increases the risk of infection, because bacteria, fungi, and other infectious organisms can come into contact with the brain.
A closed frontal lobe injury means that the skull was not broken or punctured. The damage to the brain may still be serious if the impact caused bleeding or tearing of any of the nerves and tissues.
Damage to the frontal lobe can lead to a variety of personality and behavioral changes. Some that may impair learning include:
Altered social behaviors may include:
Other problems may be more medical in nature, such as:
Frontal lobe damage from head trauma manifests in many different ways. This can depend on the severity of the injury, what sections of the frontal lobe were injured, and pre-existing personality traits.
Symptoms of Frontal Lobe Damage
Diagnosis and Treatment
With head trauma or brain injury, the first steps of treatment focus on stopping bleeding and managing swelling and nerve death.
A number of diagnostic tools can help assess head trauma andbrain injury. It’s common to have aCT scan(computed tomography) immediately after the injury. The CT scan produces a three-dimensional image to show more detail of skull fractures or bleeding.
Next, amagnetic resonance imaging (MRI)scan may be used to further identify which areas of the brain suffered damage.
If serious bleeding leads to pressure on the brain, surgery may be needed to stop the bleeding and remove the blood.
An open fracture may need to be surgically repaired. Any foreign bodies that entered the brain need to be removed. Bleeding has to be stopped, and the wound needs to be stabilized and closed.
After a frontal lobe injury, rehabilitation is an important part of recovery. Since the front part of the brain is closely related to behavior, a neuropsychologist may conduct personality and skill tests.
These tests help determine which skills need re-training. Interviews with the patient, family, and friends help the medical team and therapist understand how the injury changed the person.
From there, the medical team will put together a brain injury rehabilitation plan. The goal is to bring the person as closely back to their original functional state as possible.
Causes of a Dent in Head and How It’s Treated
Summary
The frontal lobe is located at the front of the brain. Trauma or injury to this part of the brain can cause personality and behavior changes. It can cause attention problems, language difficulty, impulsive behavior, and inappropriate social behavior.
Frontal lobe trauma may require surgery if there’s bleeding or any foreign objects in the brain. After your condition is stabilized, rehabilitation is an important part of recovery. Your medical team will evaluate your injuries and develop a brain rehabilitation plan to help you regain skills.
14 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain anatomy and how the brain works.Fan L, Li H, Zhuo J, et al.The human Brainnetome Atlas: a new brain atlas based on connectional architecture.Cereb Cortex. 2016;26(8):3508-3526. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw157Firat RB.Opening the “black box”: functions of the frontal lobes and their implications for sociology.Front Sociol. 2019;4:3. doi:10.3389/fsoc.2019.00003American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Anatomy of the brain.Ahmed S, Venigalla H, Mekala HM, Dar S, Hassan M, Ayub S.Traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatric complications.Indian J Psychol Med. 2017;39(2):114-121. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.203129American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Traumatic brain injury.Ratilal BO, Costa J, Pappamikail L, Sampaio C.Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing meningitis in patients with basilar skull fractures.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;28(4):CD004884. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004884.pub4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.BrainLine.Cognitive problems after brain injury.BrainLine.TBI 101: behavioral & emotional symptoms.Szczepanski SM, Knight RT.Insights into human behavior from lesions to the prefrontal cortex.Neuron. 2014;83(5):1002-1018. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.011Schweitzer AD, Niogi SN, Whitlow CJ, Tsiouris AJ.Traumatic brain injury: imaging patterns and complications.RadioGraphics. 2019;39(6):1571-1595. doi:10.1148/rg.2019190076de Oliveira Manoel AL.Surgery for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.Crit Care. 2020;24(1):45. doi:10.1186/s13054-020-2749-2Prince C, Bruhns ME.Evaluation and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury: the role of neuropsychology.Brain Sci. 2017;7(8):105. doi:10.3390/brainsci7080105
14 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain anatomy and how the brain works.Fan L, Li H, Zhuo J, et al.The human Brainnetome Atlas: a new brain atlas based on connectional architecture.Cereb Cortex. 2016;26(8):3508-3526. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw157Firat RB.Opening the “black box”: functions of the frontal lobes and their implications for sociology.Front Sociol. 2019;4:3. doi:10.3389/fsoc.2019.00003American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Anatomy of the brain.Ahmed S, Venigalla H, Mekala HM, Dar S, Hassan M, Ayub S.Traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatric complications.Indian J Psychol Med. 2017;39(2):114-121. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.203129American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Traumatic brain injury.Ratilal BO, Costa J, Pappamikail L, Sampaio C.Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing meningitis in patients with basilar skull fractures.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;28(4):CD004884. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004884.pub4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.BrainLine.Cognitive problems after brain injury.BrainLine.TBI 101: behavioral & emotional symptoms.Szczepanski SM, Knight RT.Insights into human behavior from lesions to the prefrontal cortex.Neuron. 2014;83(5):1002-1018. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.011Schweitzer AD, Niogi SN, Whitlow CJ, Tsiouris AJ.Traumatic brain injury: imaging patterns and complications.RadioGraphics. 2019;39(6):1571-1595. doi:10.1148/rg.2019190076de Oliveira Manoel AL.Surgery for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.Crit Care. 2020;24(1):45. doi:10.1186/s13054-020-2749-2Prince C, Bruhns ME.Evaluation and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury: the role of neuropsychology.Brain Sci. 2017;7(8):105. doi:10.3390/brainsci7080105
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain anatomy and how the brain works.Fan L, Li H, Zhuo J, et al.The human Brainnetome Atlas: a new brain atlas based on connectional architecture.Cereb Cortex. 2016;26(8):3508-3526. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw157Firat RB.Opening the “black box”: functions of the frontal lobes and their implications for sociology.Front Sociol. 2019;4:3. doi:10.3389/fsoc.2019.00003American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Anatomy of the brain.Ahmed S, Venigalla H, Mekala HM, Dar S, Hassan M, Ayub S.Traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatric complications.Indian J Psychol Med. 2017;39(2):114-121. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.203129American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Traumatic brain injury.Ratilal BO, Costa J, Pappamikail L, Sampaio C.Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing meningitis in patients with basilar skull fractures.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;28(4):CD004884. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004884.pub4Johns Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.BrainLine.Cognitive problems after brain injury.BrainLine.TBI 101: behavioral & emotional symptoms.Szczepanski SM, Knight RT.Insights into human behavior from lesions to the prefrontal cortex.Neuron. 2014;83(5):1002-1018. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.011Schweitzer AD, Niogi SN, Whitlow CJ, Tsiouris AJ.Traumatic brain injury: imaging patterns and complications.RadioGraphics. 2019;39(6):1571-1595. doi:10.1148/rg.2019190076de Oliveira Manoel AL.Surgery for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.Crit Care. 2020;24(1):45. doi:10.1186/s13054-020-2749-2Prince C, Bruhns ME.Evaluation and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury: the role of neuropsychology.Brain Sci. 2017;7(8):105. doi:10.3390/brainsci7080105
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Brain anatomy and how the brain works.
Fan L, Li H, Zhuo J, et al.The human Brainnetome Atlas: a new brain atlas based on connectional architecture.Cereb Cortex. 2016;26(8):3508-3526. doi:10.1093/cercor/bhw157
Firat RB.Opening the “black box”: functions of the frontal lobes and their implications for sociology.Front Sociol. 2019;4:3. doi:10.3389/fsoc.2019.00003
American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Anatomy of the brain.
Ahmed S, Venigalla H, Mekala HM, Dar S, Hassan M, Ayub S.Traumatic brain injury and neuropsychiatric complications.Indian J Psychol Med. 2017;39(2):114-121. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.203129
American Association of Neurological Surgeons.Traumatic brain injury.
Ratilal BO, Costa J, Pappamikail L, Sampaio C.Antibiotic prophylaxis for preventing meningitis in patients with basilar skull fractures.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;28(4):CD004884. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004884.pub4
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Traumatic brain injury.
BrainLine.Cognitive problems after brain injury.
BrainLine.TBI 101: behavioral & emotional symptoms.
Szczepanski SM, Knight RT.Insights into human behavior from lesions to the prefrontal cortex.Neuron. 2014;83(5):1002-1018. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.011
Schweitzer AD, Niogi SN, Whitlow CJ, Tsiouris AJ.Traumatic brain injury: imaging patterns and complications.RadioGraphics. 2019;39(6):1571-1595. doi:10.1148/rg.2019190076
de Oliveira Manoel AL.Surgery for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.Crit Care. 2020;24(1):45. doi:10.1186/s13054-020-2749-2
Prince C, Bruhns ME.Evaluation and treatment of mild traumatic brain injury: the role of neuropsychology.Brain Sci. 2017;7(8):105. doi:10.3390/brainsci7080105
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