It’s time to take a step back in order to fully comprehend how traumatic brain injuries impact people differently, from the types of impairment experienced to the severity of the injury. One of the more difficult aspects for people learning about traumatic brain injury (TBI), whether they are a survivor, caregiver, friend, or someone who is interested in the condition, is learning about the different outcomes of a TBI.
TBIs are not a black and white injury. While the media pushes TBI news stories about professional athletes and veterans suffering from the injury, in reality, these injuries can happen anytime and anywhere. TBIs range from a mild concussion that can be sustained from a bump to the
head or a car accident where you have no visible physical damage to severe injuries, such as a violent assault. From there, we can delve deeper into the different areas and regions of the brain.
The brain oversees all functions in the body, whether it be running, writing, or speaking. Our brain controls everything we do, but it has different regions, which are responsible for different actions, Depending on where a TBI is sustained, the outcome of the injury could have little to no effect, all theway to severe impairment and possible death.
It can be difficult to sum up TBI since there is a wide range in the severity and types of injuries that can be experienced. Because of this wide range, it is important to educate ourselves on the different regions of the brain, their normal functions, and what happens when an injury is sustained in
that specific region.
Since it is not practical for most people to study up on every function of each region of the brain, the Office of the Surgeon General has partnered together with the Center for Excellence in Medical Multimedia to create an interactive brain for their website about TBI awareness, “Traumatic Brain Injury: The Journey Home.” This program allows you to either take a side view, inside view, or a view of the left or right side of the brain in order to learn about where different areas are located and what their normal functions are. There is also a component that allows you to see how TBIs in different regions of the brain can affect vision. You can then find out the result of an injury on each specific area, allowing
yourself to fully comprehend the symptoms and become more educated about the condition.
We highly recommend everyone take a look at the interactive brain, to have a better understanding of each region, its normal function, and function after being afflicted by an injury.
Take some time to look aroundhttps://
www.traumaticbraininjuryatoz.org/Interactive-Brain.aspx
