Frontal Lobe

• Initiation
• Problem-solving
• Judgment
• Inhibition of behavior
• Planning/anticipation
• Self-monitoring
• Motor planning
• Personality/emotions
• Awareness of abilities/limitations
• Organization
• Attention/concentration
• Mental flexibility
• Speaking (expressive language)

• Sense of touch
• Differentiation: size, shape, color
• Spatial perception
• Visual perception

Temporal Lobe

• Memory
• Hearing
• Understanding language (receptive language)
• Organization and sequencing

Occipital Lobe

• Vision

Cerebellum

• Balance
• Coordination
• Skilled motor activity

General Patterns of Dysfunction by Location of Injury

Right Side of Brain

• Impairments in visual-spatial perception
• Left-neglect, or inattention to the left side of space or body
• Decreased awareness of deficits
• Altered creativity and music perception
• Loss of the gestalt, or “big picture”
• Visual memory deficits
• Decreased control over left-sided movements

Left Side of Brain

• Difficulties in understanding language (receptive language)
• Difficulties in speaking or verbal output (expressive language)
• Catastrophic reactions (depression, anxiety)
• Verbal memory deficits
• Decreased control over right-sided movements
• Impaired logic
• Sequencing difficulties

Diffuse Injury

• Reduced thinking speed
• Increased confusion
• Reduced attention and concentration
• Increased fatigue
• Impaired cognitive functions across all lobes