HUMAN BRAIN DAMAGE

Brain Damage
Brain damage is an injury that causes
the destruction or deterioration of
brain cells.
Types of Brain Injury:
 Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) sudden physical
damage to the brain.
 Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) type of brain damage
that happens after birth.
Causes of Brain Damage
• Brain tumors
• Cerebrovascular disorders
• Closed-head injuries
• Brain infections
• Neurotoxins
• Genetic factors
A. Brain Tumors
Tumor/neoplasm
• cluster of cells that grows independently of the rest of the body.
• some sort of abnormal new growth of tissue, a lump or bump, that can be
benign or malignant.
A. Brain Tumors
 Meningiomas – tumors that grow
between the meninges. These
tumors are encapsulated,
meaning they grow within their
own membrane.

 Meningiomas are almost always

benign tumors or neoplasms that
are surgically removable with little
risk of further growth in the body.
A. Brain Tumors
• Infiltrating tumors – neoplasms which
grow diffusely through surrounding
tissue. These are usually malignant
tumors which are difficult to remove
completely.

• Any infiltrating cancerous tissue that

remains after surgery continues to
grow. These are usually untreatable.
A. Brain Tumors
 Metastatic tumors – tumors that
originate in one organ and spread
to the brain via the bloodstream.

 Most metastatic tumors originate

as cancers of the lungs.

 The brain tends to be a fertile

ground for tumor growth.
A. Brain Tumors
Neuroma – tumors which grow on the
nerve or tract;
• also referred to as a “pinched nerve”
or a nerve tumor;
• Principal symptoms;
• Pain between the toes while walking;
those suffering from the condition often
find relief by stopping their walk, taking
off their shoe, and rubbing the affected
area;
• At times, the patient will describe the
pain as similar to having a stone in his or
her shoe.
Brain Tumors Facts
 Primary brain tumors can be either malignant ( contain cancer cells) or
benign (do not contain cancer cells). A primary brain tumor is a tumor
which begins in the brain. If a cancerous tumor which starts elsewhere
in the body sends cells which end up growing in the brain, such tumors
are then called secondary or metastatic brain tumors.
 Brain tumors can occur at any age.
 The exact cause of brain tumors is not clear.
 Physicians group brain tumors by grade (the way the cells look under a
microscope). The higher the grade number, the more abnormal the
cells appear and the more aggressively the tumor usually behaves.
 Brain tumors are classified as grade I, grade II, or grade III, or grade IV
 The most common type of primary brain tumors among adults are
astrocytoma, meningioma, and oligodendroglioma.
Brain Tumors Facts
 The most common type of primary brain tumors in children
are medulloblastoma, grade I or II astrocytoma, (or glioma)
ependymoma, and brain stem glioma.
 Studies have found risk factors for brain tumors to include
ionizing radiation from high dose X-rays (for example,
radiation therapy where the machine is aimed at the head),
and family history.
 The symptoms of brain tumors depend on their size, type,
and location.
 The most common symptoms of brain tumors include
headaches; numbness or tingling in the arms or legs;
seizures, memory problems; mood and personality changes;
balance and walking problems; neusea and
vomiting; changes in speech, vision, or hearing.
Brain Tumors Facts
• Brain tumors are diagnosed by the doctor based on the
results of a medical history and physical examination
and results of a variety of specialized tests of the brain
and nervous system.
• Treatment of a brain tumor depends on the type,
location, and size of the tumor, as well as the age and
health of the patient.
• Options for brain tumor treatment include surgery,
radiation therapy, and chemotherapy (or a combination
of treatments).
B. Cerebrovascular Disorders
 Cerebral hemorrhage – occurs
when a cerebral blood vessel
ruptures and blood seeps into the
surrounding neural tissue and
damages it. This often results to
stroke.

 Aneurysm – a pathological
balloon-like dilation that forms in
the wall of a blood vessel at a
point where elasticity of the vessel
wall is defective.
B. Cerebrovascular Disorders
There are several risk factors and causes of brain
hemorrhages. The most common include:
• Head trauma. Injury is the most common cause of
bleeding in the brain for those younger than age 50.
• High blood pressure. This chronic condition can, over a
long period of time, weaken blood vessel walls.
Untreated high blood pressure is a major preventable
cause of brain hemorrhages.
• Aneurysm. This is a weakening in a blood vessel wall
that swells. It can burst and bleed into the brain,
leading to a stroke.
B. Cerebrovascular Disorders
There are several risk factors and causes of brain
hemorrhages. The most common include:
• Blood vessel abnormalities. (Arteriovenous malformations)
Weaknesses in the blood vessels in and around the brain
may be present at birth and diagnosed only if symptoms
develop.
• Amyloid angiopathy. This is an abnormality of the blood
vessel walls that sometimes occurs with aging and high
blood pressure. It may cause many small, unnoticed bleeds
before causing a large one.
• Blood or bleeding disorders. Hemophilia and sickle cell
anemia can both contribute to decreased levels of blood
platelets.
• Liver disease. This condition is associated with increased
bleeding in general.
• Brain tumors.
B. Cerebrovascular Disorders
The symptoms include:
• A sudden severe headache
• Seizures with no previous history of seizures
• Weakness in an arm or leg
• Nausea or vomiting
• Decreased alertness; lethargy
• Changes in vision
• Tingling or numbness
• Difficulty speaking or understanding speech
• Difficulty swallowing
• Difficulty writing or reading
• Loss of fine motor skills, such as hand tremors
• Loss of coordination
• Loss of balance
• An abnormal sense of taste
• Loss of consciousness
B. Cerebrovascular Disorders
• Cerebral ischemia – disruption of the
blood supply to an area of the brain which
often leads to stroke.
Its three main causes are:
• Thrombosis – formation of a blood clot
(thrombus) inside a blood vessel, obstructing
the flow of blood through the circulatory
system;
• Embolism – condition where the blood flow
in an artery is blocked by a foreign body, such
as a blood clot or an air bubble;
• Arteriosclerosis - narrowing of the
arteries caused by a buildup of plaque.
C. Closed-Head Injuries
 These are brain injuries produced
by blows which do not penetrate
the skull. This often causes
confusion, sensorimotor
disturbances or loss of
consciousness.

 Contusion – these are closed-head

injuries which involve bleeding due
to damage in the cerebral
circulatory system.
C. Closed-Head Injuries
• Contrecoup injuries – contusions
that occur on the side of the brain
opposite to the side of the blow;
• It refers to the common pattern of
injury whereby damage is located
both at the site of impact (often less
marked) and on the opposite side of
the head to the point of maximum
external trauma.
C. Closed-Head Injuries
• Concussion – the situation which there
is a disturbance of consciousness
following a blow to the head with no
cerebral bleeding or obvious structural
damage;
• A concussion is a traumatic brain injury
that alters the way your brain functions;
• Effects are usually temporary but can
include headaches and problems with
concentration, memory, balance and
coordination.
C. Closed-Head Injuries
• Punch-drunk syndrome – a dementia and cerebral
scarring observed in boxers and other individuals who
experience repeated concussions.
D. Brain Infections
• An invasion of the brain by
microorganisms is a brain
infection and the resulting
inflammation is known as
encephalitis.

• Brain infections can be caused by

bacteria or viruses.
D. Brain Infections
 When bacteria infect the brain, they
often lead to the formation of cerebral
abscesses – pockets of pus in the
brain.

 Meningitis – inflammation of the

meninges usually caused by bacterial
infection.

 General paresis – a syndrome of

insanity and dementia that results
from syphilitic infection.
D. Brain Infections
 Viral infections of the nervous
system can either be neurotropic or
pantropic.

 Neurotropic infections – viral

infections that have a particular
affinity for neural tissue. An
example is rabies.

 Pantropic infections – viral

infections that can infect brain
tissue but have no preference for it.
Examples are mumps and herpes.
E. Neurotoxins
• The nervous system can be
damaged by exposure to any one of
a variety of toxic chemicals.

• Toxic psychosis – chronic insanity or

psychiatric disturbance that is
caused by exposure to toxic
chemicals.
E. Neurotoxins
• Tardive dyskinesia (TD) – a motor disorder that results
from chronic use of certain antipsychotic drugs. Its
symptoms include involuntary smacking, sucking
movements of the lips, thrusting and rolling of the
tongue, lateral jaw movements and puffing of the
cheeks.
F. Genetic Factors
 Chromosomal anomalies can also result
to brain and cognitive abnormalities.

 Down syndrome – a disorder associated

with the presence of an extra
chromosome in the 21st pair resulting in
mental retardation and delayed growth.

 Other examples are phenylketonuria and

Huntington’s disease.
Neuropsychological Diseases
• Epilepsy
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Huntington’s Disease
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Alzheimer’s Disease
A. Epilepsy
• It is a neurological disorder characterized by
spontaneously recurring seizures.

• The label epilepsy is applied only to those patients

whose seizures appear to be generated by their own
chronic brain dysfunction.
A. Epilepsy
 Convulsions – motor seizures which often involve
tremors, rigidity and loss of both balance and
consciousness.

 Epileptic auras – psychological changes that precede

the onset of a convulsion – bad smell, specific thought,
vague feeling of familiarity, hallucination, tightness in
the chest.

 Epilepsy holds two main types of seizures – partial or

generalized.
A. Epilepsy
• Partial seizure – does not involve the entire brain and is
not usually accompanied by a total loss of
consciousness or equilibrium.

• Simple partial seizure – symptoms are primarily sensory or

motor or both and they spread systematically through the
body.

• Complex partial seizure – often restricted to the temporal

lobes and typically begins with an aura which may develop
into a psychomotor attack.
A. Epilepsy
• Generalized seizures – involve the entire brain. Some
begin as focal discharges that gradually spread through
the entire brain.
• Grand mal seizure – symptoms are loss of consciousness, loss
of equilibrium and violent tonic-clonic convulsion, tongue
biting and cyanosis (appearance of a blue or purple
coloration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the
tissues near the skin surface having low oxygen).
• Petit mal seizure – characterized by disturbances in
consciousness like cessation of ongoing behavior, a vacant
look and sometimes fluttering eyes.
B. Parkinson’s Disease
• It is a movement disorder that is
associated with degeneration of
dopaminergic neurons or substantia
nigra in the nigrostriatal pathway.

• Symptoms include tremors during

inactivity, muscular rigidity, difficulty
initiating movement, slowness of
movement and a mask-like face.
C. Huntington’s Disease
 Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited
disease that causes certain nerve cells in the
brain to waste away.
 It is a progressive terminal disorder of motor
and intellectual function that is produced in
adulthood by a dominant gene.
 People are born with the defective gene, but
symptoms usually don't appear until middle
age.
 Early symptoms of HD may include
uncontrolled movements, clumsiness, and
balance problems. Later, HD can take away
the ability to walk, talk, and swallow. Some
people stop recognizing family members.
Others are aware of their environment and
are able to express emotions.
D. Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
 It is a progressive disease of the CNS
myelin which typically begins in early
adult life. This involves the
degeneration of myelin sheath and
associated axons and development
of hard scar tissue.

 Common symptoms include urinary

incontinence, visual disturbances,
muscular weakness, numbness,
tremor and ataxia (lack of muscle
coordination).
E. Alzheimer’s Disease
 It is the major cause of
dementia in old age
characterized by neurofibrillary
tangles, amyloid plaques and
neuron loss.

 This progressive and terminal

disease’s symptoms include
depression and general decline
in cognitive ability.
Other Related Disorders
 Scotoma
 Agnosia
Visual agnosia
Prosopagnosia
Astereognosia
Asomatognosia
 Anosognosia
 Anosmia
 Ageusia
 Aphasia
 Apraxia
Scotoma
• Scotoma
• An area of blindness in the visual field which is caused by a
damage to an area of the primary visual cortex.
Agnosia
• Agnosia
• The inability to consciously recognize sensory stimuli of a
particular class that is not attributable to a sensory deficit or
to verbal or intellectual impairment.

• Visual Agnosia
• A failure to recognize visual stimuli caused by damage to an
area of the secondary visual cortex.
Agnosia
• Prosopagnosia
• Visual agnosia for faces.
Agnosia
• Astereognosia
• The inability to recognize objects by
touch caused by damage to the
primary somatosensory cortex.

• Asomatognosia
• The failure to recognize parts of
one’s own body caused by damage
to the right posterior parietal lobe.
Anosognosia & Contralateral Neglect
• Anosognosia
• The common failure of neurological patients to recognize
their own symptoms.

• Contralateral Neglect
• A disorder characterized by a tendency not to respond that
are contralateral to a brain injury.

• This disturbance is often associated with large lesions on the

right posterior parietal lobe.
Anosmia & Ageusia
• Anosmia
• The inability to smell caused by
damage on the olfactory nerves
(cranial nerve 1) and/or olfactory
bulbs.

• Ageusia
• The inability to taste due to damage
on the facial nerve (cranial nerve 7).
Aphasia
• Aphasia
• A disturbance in the ability to use or
comprehend language.

• Broca’s Aphasia
• Difficulty in speech production caused
by damage to the inferior prefrontal
cortex / inferior frontal gyrus.

• Wernicke’s Aphasia
• Difficulty in language comprehension
caused by damage to the posterior end
of the superior temporal gyrus.
Apraxia
• Apraxia
• A disorder of voluntary movement caused by damage to the
posterior parietal cortex.