Can a Brain Injury Change Who You Are?

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The topic of "what makes us who we are" has been a controversial debate throughout history. There is the philosopher's point of view stating we are who we are because of our soul. While on the other hand there is the neuropsychological perspective stating much of who we are and how we act is due to our prefrontal cortex. There are extreme cases such as Phineas Gage and Eadweard Muybridge that  show damage to the brain can change the personality of a person. After Gage's and Muybridge's injury to their prefrontal cortex they were both reported as more aggressive, impulsive , rude and emotionally unstable. Even though these were some extreme cases, the idea of brain injury to the prefrontal cortex resulting to severe personality change is now well established.

In class we learned that the prefrontal cortex is responsible for organizing and planning, our decision making, impulse control, and adjusts our behavior response to rewards and punishments. We know that if there was any type of damage caused to this area it would result in a decrease in impulse control, it impairs consequence learning and is sometimes related to depression.  It is clear that who we are is because of our brain. There are treatments to help people who suffer with brain injury and help them work towards returning to their normal lives and help regulate their emotions.

http://neurosciencenews.com/can-a-brain-injury-change-who-you-are/

Comments

  1. Alejandra MagallanesApril 26, 2018 at 8:46 PM

    This article reminds me of the topic we dissuced in class called localization.It reminds me of the person that got the pole in thier skull and changed how they acted after the accident. I also heard how concussions can cause a person to change because of the trauma the brain gets cause damage to specific parts of the brain.

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  2. UnknownApril 26, 2018 at 9:41 PM

    This would be an interesting topic to study in depth with child athletes. The prefrontal cortex as mentioned before as well as in class is involved in decision making among other functions. It also does not fully mature until the age of 25 or so. It seems odd that children are risking this cognitive ability before it even has a chance to fully develop. One experimental treatment is to use medications for ADHD on those who suffer from personality changes after brain injuries. This is because of the belief that symptoms of ADHD are similar to those with TBIs.

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  3. Saran HebronApril 26, 2018 at 10:51 PM

    The prefrontal cortex can cause various changes in a person's personality if damaged. However the prefrontal cortex is one of the last things to develope in our brain, so treatments can benefit a person, and the brain can be rewired to strengthen planning, and decision making depending on how sever the damage. Cognitive behavioral therapy is one of the most common therapies used to treat many disorders, especially as it relates to the brain. Drugs can also be induced to ensure cohesiveness to the therapy. Children with Autism spectrum disorder ADHD, and misconduct disorder can benefit from these therapies so, the same support could be administered for people with brain damage.

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