A frontal syndrome is a painful condition of the human body, manifested in the form of a clinical symptom complex, localized during a double violation of the anterior parts of the brain (frontal lobe). The disease manifests itself in abnormalities of praxis, disorders of the emotional-volitional and behavioral nature, problems in the work of the speech apparatus, when walking, etc. As a diagnostic procedure, specialists in the field of neurology resort to the use of cerebral modeling of the body using a computer tomography or magnetic resonance scanner. In addition, doctors examine the circulatory system.
To draw up a therapeutic treatment plan, doctors find out the etiological origin of the frontal lobe damage, as a result of which tactics can use pharmacological (medications are prescribed to stabilize the functioning of blood vessels, as well as neuroprotective and psychotropic components), neurosurgical (surgical intervention for instrumental removal of education) reception with a further rehabilitation period. In Lone Star Neurology, you can find detailed information about frontal lobe damage.
The study of the frontal regions of the brain began to reach its limit at the end of the 19th century. Many scientists and professors who studied the described organ were faced with a lot of controversies. As a result of their studies, they discovered when the frontal lobe is “turned off”, a person does not experience a serious disruption in motor, sensory and reflex abilities. Such information led the experts to the conclusion that such cerebral structures do not carry any particular significance in the functional plan.
Subsequent studies have established that patients have significant deformations in behavior and psychoemotional state in case of deviations from the norm in the frontal zone of the cortex. Such changes are responsible for the realization of psychic functionality of the highest degree. As a confirmation of the presented statement, you can use the significant growth of these departments in the human body compared with the brain of any animal.
Frontal Lobe Damage Symptoms
If there is a mild stage of the disease in the patient’s body:
- The manifestation is noticed with a low level of interest.
- Inattention and inactivity appear under any circumstances.
- The isolated form of frontal lobe damage is not characterized by paresis or some form of sensory abnormalities.
- The usual primitive activity remains 100%. However, the patient has problems when it is necessary to do some complex action with a multicomponent composition.
- In addition, any purposeful desire is stopped by side effects in the form of impulsive seizures. For example, a patient with the described diagnosis, seeing the outline of the doorbell button, will use it since this is a habitual action of any person. Similarly, during dinner preparation, the affected person can add absolutely any object to the tea.
- In some situations, damage to the frontal lobe is characteristic of the so-called perseveration or “getting stuck” on some movement: repeated repetition of a question/sentence, reading one sentence several times in a row, repeatedly squeezing the hand when greeting, etc.
- Also, doctors refer to the inability to maintain a specific body posture for a long time or the inability to walk as common lobe damage symptoms. However, when lying down, all movements remain saved.
Other signs of frontal lobe damage include:
- The occurrence of atypical smacking or puckering of the lips.
- Complete inability to cause the action of initiation (a person cannot ask for help, take a camp with water, etc.).
- Difficulties with the implementation of speech (the answers are monosyllabic, the patient repeats the phrase of their interlocutor, etc.).
- Inability to start or stop motor reflexes.
- A high degree of agitation.
Understanding Frontal Lobe Damage Mechanism
Mechanism of occurrence
The main task of the frontal department is to perform a variety of integrative and regulatory functions. Thanks to them, a person can conduct complex types of behavioral reactions, program, and perform sequential actions. In case of malfunction of the described structures:
- The process begins, during which the patient is not capable of conscious motor activity; formed – ideator apraxia.
- Deformations occur in the patient’s body: complex reflexes are replaced by simple, more familiar, and automated ones, repeating in an arbitrary order.
- Disinhibition of side effects and a lack of purposeful behavior are revealed.
- An asocial attitude causes failures in control and impulsive manifestations.
Significant coverage of the lesion causes problems with cortical coordination of skeletal muscle tone.
Varieties
Frontal lobe damage in modern medicine has several differences in the functional purpose of the regions. Doctors are classified by location:
- Apraxic form – a hematoma is formed in the premotor cortex (the patient has disorders of the motor plan).
- Apathy-fabulistic – observed with anomalies of the convexity region of the prefrontal lobe (changes occur in a person’s behavior, they begin to experience a feeling of apathy, they feel weak-willed, a lack of initiative, etc.).
- The syndrome of mental disinhibition – occurs in the mediobasal area (patients have an increased degree of carelessness, foolishness, and in some moments, aggression).
Possible complications
In case of neglect of all the above lobe damage symptoms or refusal of medications, and in the absence of a critical understanding of their general condition, the patient will need constant supervision from professional nurses or relatives.
- In the apathetic-fabulistic stage, frontal lobe damage can cause exhaustion of the body.
- During astasia-abasia, the patient may experience mechanical damage (trauma, fractures, etc.).
As a result of the formation of such a danger, experts prescribe the patient to rest in the bed. However, even in this state, a person may experience various consequences in the form of bedsores and other abnormalities.
Causes of Frontal Lobe Damage
Frontal areas are considered the latest in development and not fully differentiated areas with increased interchange of components. That is why such a concept as frontal lobe damage is only diagnosed if the patient has a bilateral pathology. The main sources of abnormal processes are:
- Traumatic brain injury – trauma is a common occurrence. Such damage is formed when the forehead collides or a counterblow with the occipital zone. (Post-traumatic edema formation causes compression of cerebral tissues and also puts pressure on the cortex.)
- Strokes – the transport of blood cells occurs through the anterior and middle arteries of the brain. In case of problems in the passage of blood in these places, the progression of an ischemic stroke begins (death of neurons due to acute hypoxia).
- Pathological disorders in the vascular system – the greatest danger is an increase in the walls (thinning or breakthrough). As a result, blood clots form a hematoma after rupture (With an increase in size, a process of pressure and destruction of neural elements is formed.)
- Tumors – growing into the presented lobes, such neoplasms are capable of causing various deformations and malfunctions in the cerebral zone. (With each new stage, the functional reflex of neuronal particles decreases.)
- Degenerative processes – such diseases can manifest themselves if the patient suffers from Pick’s disease, dementia of a frontotemporal nature, or degeneration of a corticobasal nature. (Problems begin after the described pathology with further apoptosis of nerve cells; they are replaced by elements of the glial and connective plan.)
Frontal Lobe Damage Diagnostics
Diagnostic difficulties occur due to the mental nature of the clinical manifestations of frontal lobe damage. Apathy-abulic states resemble depression, and mental disinhibition, which is the manic phase of bipolar disorder. Observing changes in the patient’s personality, behavior, relatives often initially turn to a psychiatrist, who directs the patient to a neurologist. The neurological examination includes:
- Neurological status assessment. Behavioral disorders, difficulties in performing several consecutive movements according to instructions, perseveration of one of these movements, mirroring when performing the Head test (copying the pose of the doctor’s hands) are noted. Possible astasia in the Romberg position, gait disturbance, and speech disorder. Symptoms of oral automatism and grasping reflex are revealed.
- Neuroimaging. This examination is of paramount importance in establishing the morphological substrate that causes frontal lobe damage. CT of the brain is more informative in post-traumatic conditions and meningeal hematomas. Cerebral MRI can detect post-stroke foci, tumors, and degenerative changes in the frontal lobes.
- Research of cerebral hemodynamics:
- is carried out if there is a suspicion of the avascular nature of violations.
- is used for ultrasound Doppler, MRI, and duplex scanning of cerebral vessels.
- reveals zones of chronic cerebral ischemia, localization, and nature of blood flow disorders (spasm, thromboembolism, aneurysm, AVM).
A frontal syndrome is a clinical symptom complex, indicating the area of the cerebral lesion, but is observed in many diseases. To establish a definitive diagnosis, it is necessary to differentiate the frontal symptoms of various etiologies. The specifics of the development of the clinical picture and accompanying lobe damage symptoms help to clarify the nature of the causal pathology. With injuries, strokes, frontal symptoms arise sharply against the background of almost complete well-being; with tumors, degenerative processes, clinical manifestations gradually increase.
Treatment of frontal lobe damage
The therapy is carried out comprehensively and combines etiopathogenetic and symptomatic treatment with subsequent rehabilitation. If necessary, neurosurgeons, speech therapists, psychiatrists, and rehabilitation therapists take part in medical and rehabilitation measures. Depending on the etiology of the disease, two main methods are used in the treatment:
- Medication. In stroke, vascular, thrombolytic, coagulant therapy is used differentially. With severe mental abnormalities (agitation, apathy), doctors prescribe psychotropic drugs. According to indications for intracranial neoplasms, polychemotherapy is carried out. To speed up the recovery of nerve tissues in the post-traumatic, post-stroke period, nootropic, neuroprotective and neurometabolic pharmaceuticals are used as maintenance therapy for degenerative diseases.
- Neurosurgical. The indication for surgical treatment is the frontal lobe damage resulting from neoplasia, hematoma, vascular anomaly. Neurosurgical interventions are carried out with planning the course of the operation after accurately determining the localization of the formation using MRI or CT. When removing tumors, microsurgical equipment is used to differentiate altered tissues from healthy ones.
Prognosis and prevention of frontal lobe damage
The outcome of the frontal lobe damage depends on the etiology, the extent of the lesion, and the patient’s age. In young patients, recovery after TBI and neurosurgical interventions are easier than in the elderly. Complex rehabilitation contributes to the regression of neurological deficits. Progressive degenerative processes and malignant neoplasms have an unfavorable prognosis.
Preventive measures consist in:
- precluding the impact of factors that cause pathological changes in the frontal regions.
- precluding head injury, exposure to carcinogens, and cerebrovascular disease. Concerning degenerative processes, prevention is difficult since their etiology remains unclear. You can fill out the information here to contact a doctor for a consultation. We provide our services in different cities in Texas, including Dallas, Fort Worth, Denton, and others.
FAQ
- What kind of disease can cause disorders of the emotional-volitional and behavioral nature, problems in the work of the speech apparatus, when walking?
Frontal Lobe Damage can cause abnormalities of praxis, disorders of the emotional-volitional and behavioral nature, problems in the work of the speech apparatus, when walking etc.
- What are the functions of the frontal lobe?
An important function of the frontal lobes is to control and manage behavior. It is this part of the brain that prevents the performance of socially undesirable actions (for example, a grasping reflex or inappropriate behavior towards others).
- What are the varieties of frontal lobe damage?
- Apraxic form – a hematoma is formed in the premotor cortex (the patient has disorders of the motor plan).
- Apathy-fabulistic – observed with anomalies of the convexity region of the prefrontal lobe (changes occur in a person’s behavior, they begin to experience a feeling of apathy, they feel weak-willed, a lack of initiative, etc.).
- The syndrome of mental disinhibition – occurs in the mediobasal area (patients have an increased degree of carelessness, foolishness, and in some moments, aggression).
- What are the possible complications of frontal lobe damage?
In case of neglect of all the above lobe damage symptoms or refusal of medications, and in the absence of a critical understanding of their general condition, the patient will need constant supervision from professional nurses or relatives.
- In the apathetic-fabulistic stage, frontal lobe damage can cause exhaustion of the body.
- During astasia-abasia, the patient may experience mechanical damage (trauma, fractures, etc.).
- What is the mechanism of occurrence lobe damage?
- The process begins, during which the patient is not capable of conscious motor activity; formed – ideator apraxia.
- Deformations occur in the patient’s body: complex reflexes are replaced by simple, more familiar, and automated ones, repeating in an arbitrary order.
- Disinhibition of side effects and a lack of purposeful behavior are revealed.
- An asocial attitude causes failures in control and impulsive manifestations.
- Which part of the brain maintains muscle tone?
The cerebellum is responsible for coordinating movements, regulating balance and muscle tone. It is located under the occipital lobes of the cerebral cortex. The cerebellum consists of two hemispheres and the central part connecting the so-called worm, and under it, there is a cavity the fourth ventricle.
- What type of speech disorders occurs when the cortical speech centers are damaged?
Speech disorders at the cortical level are agnosias and apraxias. There are two types of speech: sensory and motor. If motor speech is impaired, then speech apraxia occurs. If sensory speech is impaired, then speech agnosia develops.
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