Symptoms of a Concussion

Injury Affects the Frontal Lobe. Location: Forehead

• Loss of simple movement of various body parts (Paralysis)
• Unability to plan a sequence of complex movements needed to complete multi-stepped tasks, such as making coffee
• Changes in social behavior
• Changes in personality
• Difficulty problem solving
• Inability to express language
• Loss of spontaneity in interacting with others
• Loss of flexibility in thought process
• Persistence of a single thought
• Inability to focus on a single task
• Rapid mood changes
• Inability to plan a sequence of complex movements needed to complete multi-stepped tasks, such as making coffee

Injury Affects Parietal Lobe. Location: back and top of the head

• Inability to focus visual attention
• Difficulties with eye and hand coordination
• Difficulty in distinguishing left from right
• Difficulty with doing mathematics
• Inability to locate the words for writing
• Problems with reading
• Difficulty with drawing objects
• Lack of awareness of certain body parts and/or surrounding space that leads to difficulties in self-care
• Inability to attend to more than one object at a time
• Inability to name an object

Injury Affects the Occipital Lobes. Location: Back of the head

• Inability to recognize the movement of object
• Difficulty reading and writing
• Hallucinations
• Visual illusions
• Difficulty locating objects in environment
• Difficulty identifying colors
• Inability to recognize words
• Blurry vision

Injury Affects the Temporal Lobes. Location: side of head, above the ears

• Inability to recognize faces
• Difficulty in understanding words
• Short term memory loss
• Spotty long-term memory
• Sudden changes in sexual behavior
• Disturbance with selective attention to what we see and hear
• Difficulty with identification of, and verbalization about objects
• Inability to categorize objects
• Persistent talking
• Aggressive behavior

Injury Affects the Brain Stem. Location: Center of the brain

• Dizziness and nausea
• Trouble swallowing food and water
• Decreased breathing capacity
• Sleeping difficulties
• Difficulty organizing
• Problems with balance and movement

Injury Affects the Cerebellum. Location: base of the skull

• Tremors
• Loss of ability to coordinate fine movements
• Inability to make rapid movements
• Loss of ability to walk
• Difficulty grabbing objects
• Slurred Speech
• Dizziness