The classic sci-fi B-movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers captures the horror of it: what if, overnight, your coworker, friend, or loved one…changed. They still look the same, but they act completely differently. Where they were once gentle and soft-spoken, they’re suddenly prone to bouts of rage. Or the passionate sensitivity they once exuded becomes an empty lack of emotion.
No, they haven’t been replaced by a conquering race of alien replicants; rather, they’ve experienced something just as terrifying but far more real: a car accident brain injury. Beyond the uncanny jar, these emotional and behavioural changes can have an equally real financial impact on the sufferer and her family. Toronto personal injury lawyers know these travails and are experienced in securing adequate compensation. That said, knowing the symptoms and effects is the first step.
Why Emotional Changes Occur
Though a car accident brain injury comes in many different forms, and thus leads to many different outcomes, neurological experts generally agree on which injuries lead to emotional and behavioural symptoms. Recent research indicates that damage to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain (those located in the front region of the skull, above the eyes, and side of the skull, by the temples, respectively) leads to emotional and behavioural changes. The frontotemporal lobes are responsible for technical skills like planning, prioritizing, and multitasking, as well as emotional responses like empathy and social awareness. Due to their location, a car accident brain injury often impacts the frontotemporal lobes directly, subsequently affecting these behaviours and emotions.
Symptomatic Responses
Frontotemporal lobe damage usually creates one of two polar responses: “mood swings” or “flat affect”.
Mood Swings
They're known as emotional lability within the research community and mood swings in the general public, but, regardless of title, you’re probably familiar with the symptoms. Sufferers seem to be on an “emotional rollercoaster”, experiencing extreme emotional highs and lows without any apparent relation to external factors. Other common symptoms include:
- Verbal and physical outbursts;
- Poor judgment and disinhibition;
- Impulsive behaviour;
- Negativity;
- Intolerance;
- Egocentricity;
- Rigidity and inflexibility; and
- Risky behaviour.
Especially when the injured person was previously shy or subdued, these symptoms can be very troubling for the people in their life. It’s important to recognize that these behaviours aren’t intentional but are simply the physiological results of a brain injury.
Flat Affect
On the other end of the spectrum, there is “flat affect”. In neuropsychology, “affect” is someone’s observable emotional condition over a given time. Thus, as it sounds, flat affect is when someone exhibits almost no observable emotion. An injured person with flat affect may appear apathetic and lethargic, may speak in a monotone, and may not change their expression in accordance with the situation (i.e. remain neutral-faced when normally people would smile or frown). Remember, though, that flat affect only means the injured person shows no observable emotion—in many cases, they still feel these emotions but lose the ability to express them physically.
With any frontotemporal lobe injury, therapy coupled with patience and tolerance on the part of employers, coworkers, and loved ones can lead to a recovery over time. However, recovery for these injuries can take months or years. This recovery time can be expensive, so make sure to consult a Toronto personal injury lawyer after your car accident. Toronto personal injury lawyers know how to handle compensation for car accident brain injuries, and can provide a much needed pillar of respite during your trying time.
Sources:
http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/behavioralsymptoms.html
http://www.brainline.org/content/2010/11/flat-affect-and-brain-injury.html
https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/frontotemporal-disorders/basics-frontotemporal-disorders