.jpg "Neurological Disorders Arising from Cortical Lesions")
A brain lesion is an abnormality in part of the brain
tissue, often resulting from a stroke, from a traumatic brain injury, or from a
tumor or other disease process. Cortical lesions are lesions occurring in the
brain’s cortex--- the part of the human brain responsible for higher functions
like cognition, as well as for sensory and motor functions. Depending on the location
of the lesion, neurological disorders can arise after a stroke or injury in
Boston, with the type of problems dependent on the location of the lesion.
Different types of neurological disorders arise from lesions in different areas
of the brain, with injuries to the frontal lobes, parietal lobes, temporal
lobes, or occipital lobes producing different effects that correspond to the
functions of the damaged area.
Neurological Disorders from Frontal
Lobe Lesions
The brain’s frontal lobes are most strongly associated with
what is called “executive function”. This refers to the ability to plan future
actions, to contemplate the consequences of possible alternate courses of
action, to modulate one’s responses based on what is socially acceptable, and
to recognize patterns in systems or events. When a lesion in Boston occurs in
the frontal lobes, executive function can become compromised as a result.
Various behavioral changes can arise as a result. Sometimes a frontal lobe
lesion will decrease a person’s volition and motivation, functions which are
largely handled in the frontal lobes. The person can also become less socially
inhibited and display inappropriate behaviors, or otherwise become more
impulsive than they were before the injury occurred.
Neurological Disorders from Parietal
Lobe Lesions
The parietal lobes play an important role in integrating
sensory information, as well as in mathematical and spatial reasoning
processes. The neurological disorders that result from parietal lobe lesions in
Boston often correspond to which hemisphere is affected. Right parietal lesions
often compromise mental imagery and the ability to visualize spatial
relationships. Sometimes a right parietal lesion can also lead to a
neurological condition called “left hemispheric neglect”, in which the person
is no longer aware of, or in control of, the left side of their body. Left
parietal lobe lesions often cause neurological disorders involving a loss of
mathematical, reading, and symbolic reasoning abilities. Other neurological
disorders associated with parietal lobe lesions in Boston involve ataxia, a
loss of motor coordination ability; amorphosynthesis, a loss of perception of
one side of the body, generally the side opposite the side on which the lesion
occurred; and Gerstmann syndrome. Gerstmann syndrome is a neurological disorder
characterized by loss of the ability to write, loss of the ability to perform
mathematical calculations, left-right disorientation, and finger agnosia.
Neurological Disorders from Temporal
Lobe Lesions
Among the primary functions of the temporal lobes, which
contain a brain structure called the “hippocampus”, is the formation of
long-term memories. The temporal lobes are also involved in processing auditory
sensory information; establishing object recognition and interpreting the
meaning and importance of visual input; and recognizing and processing
language. These functions can become impaired in Boston when lesions result
from injury or stroke. One common result of temporal lobe lesions is the loss
of the ability to remember visual stimuli, called visual agnosia. Another of
the neurological disorders associated with temporal lobe lesions in Boston is
prosopagnosia, a disorder in which a person loses the ability to recognize
faces.
Neurological Disorders from
Occipital Lobe Lesions
The occipital lobes, located at the back of the brain, are
best known for containing the areas that process various aspects of visual
information. Occipital lobe lesions in Boston most often lead to some form of
vision loss. Often this take the form of homonymous hemianopsia, in which one
side of the visual field is “cut off” in both eyes. Damage to the primary
visual cortex in the occipital lobes can cause total cortical blindness. When
areas of the occipital lobes adjacent to the temporal or parietal lobes are
damaged, phenomena like color agnosia--- a loss of the ability to recognize
color--- and movement agnosia--- a loss of the ability to recognize motion---
can occur.
