Brain Injury: How the brain functions

To help you better understand your loved one’s injury, print this out this page and ask members of the health care team to mark this picture to show you the location of your loved one’s injury or the areas of the brain that are affected. This article will also show you the anatomy of the brain.

Frontal Lobe Controls

• Movement
• Thinking initiation
• Reasoning (judgement)
• Behavior (emotions)
• Memory
• Speaking

Parietal Lobe Controls

• Knowing right from left
• Sensation
• Reading
• Understanding
spacial relationships

Temporal Lobe Controls

• Understanding language
• Behavior
• Memory
• Hearing

Occipital Lobe Controls

• Vision
• Color blindness

Cerebellum Controls

• Balance
• Coordination
• Fine muscle control

Brain Stem Controls

• Breathing
• Blood pressure
• Heartbeat
• Swallowing
• Alertness/sleep
• Body temperature
• Digestion