Frontal Lobe Injury Implications on Social Behavior

The human brain is divided into five primary lobes:

1. Frontal

2. Parietal

3. Occipital

4. Temporal

5. Limbic

Some neurologists and researchers also identify a sixth lobe that is buried deep within the brain, called the insular cortex. It is located deep within the folds of the brain (the sulcus) that separate the temporal lobe from the frontal and parietal lobes.
The brain is constructed in two halves (hemispheres) that are mirror images of each other.
Therefore, the right half of the brain controls the functions of the left side of the body and the left half controls right-side functions. Consequently, there are two “versions” of each lobe, one in each hemisphere. Each lobe is associated with distinct physical and mental functions. Therefore, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or a mild brain injury (MBI) that affects a given lobe will have implications on the physical or mental functions that that lobe controls.

There are many mental and physical functions for which the frontal lobes, the largest of the lobes of the brain, have main responsibility. Some include:

• Planning
• Organizing
• Memory
• Problem solving

A huge role of the frontal lobes that has great impact on an individual’s independence is that of controlling social behavior. An article written by Dr. Stephen L Nelson, Jr, MD, PhD, FAAP suggests that an individual who has sustained frontal lobe injury can present with one or more of the following social dysfunctions:

• Appropriateness of behavior: Does he or she say things that he or she would never have said before, such as “You are so fat” or “That is a really ugly dress”?
• The individual’s table manners: Does the he or she now take food and start eating before everyone else or take food from other people’s plates without asking?
• The individual’s empathy and ability to infer the mental state of others: This kind of dysfunction often leads to inappropriate behavior.
• Possible apathy: Does he or she care less about hobbies, family members, and finances than previously?
• An increase or decrease in his or her’s sexuality or in his or her judgment about possible liaisons

The primary goal of the interdisciplinary team of professionals at NeuLife Rehab is to prepare Clients for the rest of their lives. That means providing superior post-acute rehabilitation for the physical and mental challenges that they confront when they become Clients of NeuLife Rehab.

By means of a comprehensive evaluation of an individual, the professionals of NeuLife Rehab formulate a Client Goal Plan specifically designed to rehabilitate him or her to the highest level of physical and mental function possible. That may mean fully independent living, supported independent living, or some level in between. But in all events, the goal is the achievement of independence to the most complete extent that our Client’s physical and mental capabilities allow.

A Client with a frontal lobe injury may have sustained it in one of a variety of ways. For example, it could have been the result of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) or a work-related accident. But it also can result from a stroke.
When an individual becomes a Client of NeuLife Rehab in Mount Dora, Florida, he or she undergoes an independent functional evaluation administered by a multidisciplinary team of professionals that may consist of:

• Board Certified Neurologist
• Board Certified Behavior Analyst
• Board Certified Physiatrist
• Neuropsychologist
• Psychologist
• Board Certified Psychiatrist
• Speech Language Pathologist/Cognitive Therapist
• Physical Therapist
• Occupational Therapist
• Nurses
• Certified Rehab Counselor

From the results of the independent functional evaluation, the professionals of NeuLife Rehab formulate a Client Goal Plan. The Client Goal Plan guides the clinically relevant services delivered by NeuLife Rehab. The Client Goal Plan guides the cognitive, psychiatric, neurologic, psychological and neuropsychological therapy of the Client. The goal of NeuLife Rehab’s innovative post-acute rehabilitation is the attainment for our Clients of independence to the fullest extent that his or her physical and mental abilities permit.

NeuLife Rehab in Mount Dora, Florida consistently provides the highest standard of care in the delivery of clinically relevant services to achieve successful, sustained outcomes and exceed the expectations of all persons served.

Proper and timely post-acute rehabilitation that may determine the difference between disability and independence is what NeuLife refers to as the “platinum post-acute period” — the crucial window following acute care that is needed to nurture the whole person to health with specialized, clinically relevant services.

NeuLife, in Mount Dora, Florida, is an accessible residential post-acute program providing specialized rehabilitation to individuals diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury
(TBI), Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Amputations, Burns and other Catastrophic Injuries and Challenging Diagnoses.

2725 Robie Avenue
Mount Dora, Florida 32757