The frontal lobe is a crucial area of the brain that controls numerous important parts of both the body and mind. Thus, when it suffers damage, the victim often has to deal with serious consequences.
What exactly does the frontal lobe control? How do injuries to it reflect in the victim’s daily life? What does recovery look like, and how can a victim expect it to go?
Physical and mental controls
As Physiopedia states, the frontal lobe controls many crucial parts of the brain and body. It holds the prefrontal cortex, the motor, premotor and supplementary motor cortexes, the frontal eye fields and Broca’s Area.
Together, these areas control or hold responsibility for numerous aspects of physical and mental function. For example, it helps a person codify short-term memory into long-term memory. It also manages executive function, personality and behavioral traits, impulse control and the movement of smooth muscles in the body, mouth and eyes.
Potential effects of damage
When damage occurs to this area, it can take both physical or mental shapes accordingly. Physically, damage to the smooth muscle control can make a person have trouble focusing their eyes, speaking, or controlling their movements.
Mentally, it is not unusual for these victims to struggle with memory issues, especially when it comes to coding short-term memories into long-term ones. Beyond that, it is not unusual for victims to struggle with impulse control and even anger management, lashing out at other people even if it is out of character.
It is important for frontal lobe damage to get checked out as soon as possible in order for the victim to achieve the best outcome.