Brain Injury Awareness Month

By: Natalie Samara

Our brain is the most complex and beautifully constructed organ in the human body and controls our thoughts, memory, touch, emotion, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, etc. This organ also works collaboratively with other organs and systems of the body such as the cardiovascular system.  The main body system where the brain comes from is called the nervous system. The nervous system has the ability to monitor the body’s internal and external environments, integrate sensory information and coordinate voluntary and involuntary responses in our body. 

Complications and disruptions can occur within the nervous system, including through brain injuries, there are various brain functions that lead to temporary or long-term difficulties in thinking, understanding, moving, communicating, and acting, but that depends on the severity and location of the injury. For example, a brain injury can affect our executive functioning like multitasking. One common brain injury is  traumatic brain injury, or TBI, which is caused by the head being hit or being stricken due to a fall, vehicle accident, assault, etc., and it alters the function of the brain. 

Brain Injury Awareness established in 1980 by Brain Injury Association of America also known as National Head Injury Foundation before renaming itself to the BIAA.. Every year, during the month of March, is celebrated, bringing awareness and educating the public through public campaigns, brain injury survivors, webinars, and social media. 

Each part of our brain is differently impacted by a brain injury. For instance, an injury to the frontal lobes responsible for cognitive, emotional, and motor functions such as decision-making, attention, emotional regulation, taste and smell and perception as well as many other functions of this part of the brain. When the frontal lobes are affected, the individual’s ability to control emotions, impulses, and behavior may cause difficulty recalling events or speaking. An injury to the temporal lobes can lead to an inability to function properly, causing individuals to demonstrate difficulty with communication or memory. As for parietal lobes, a person may have trouble with their five primary senses. Brain injuries to the cerebellum may affect balance, movement, and coordination, while those toa person's occipital lobes may lead to trouble seeing or perceiving the size and shape of objects. It can also impact both the left and right side of the brain in which its functions are essential for our daily function of our bodies and physiological processes. The left hemisphere is responsible for controlling the right side of the body and of cognitive and motor functions such as language processing, logic and reasoning, motor control, etc. Whereas the right hemisphere is responsible for controlling the left side of the body and of functions with creativity, spatial awareness, emotional processing, etc. 

The symptoms of brain injuries can be physical, emotional, and cognitive and differ in how it alters the function of the individual. A few examples of physical symptoms from a brain injury include headaches, seizures, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, and neurological issues such as loss of balance, slurred speech, etc. Some cognitive and emotional symptoms include loss of or change in consciousness, decreased level of consciousness, changes in sleep patterns, frustration, and irritability, among many others. 

People aged 65 and older are at greater risk of being hospitalized and dying of brain injury  according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institute of Health. 

In order to seek treatment for a brain injury, here are a few things to do depending on the severity of the injury. When there is a mild traumatic brain injury, it usually requires no treatment other than rest and over-the-counter pain relievers to treat a headache. However, the person needs to be monitored closely at home for any persistent, worsening, or new symptoms. Emergency care is required for moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries, and it focuses on making sure the person has enough oxygen and an adequate blood supply, maintaining blood pressure and preventing any further injury to the head or neck. Any additional treatments in the emergency room or intensive care unit of a hospital will focus on minimizing secondary damage due to inflammation, bleeding, or reduced oxygen supply to the brain. There are medications that limit secondary damage to the brain immediately after an injury, and they may include:

• Anti-seizure drugs: Anti-seizure drugs may be given during the first week to avoid any additional brain damage that might be caused by a seizure 

• Coma-inducing drugs: Coma-inducing drugs are used to put people into temporary comas because a comatose brain needs less oxygen to function. This is especially helpful if blood vessels, compressed by increased pressure in the brain, are unable to supply brain cells with normal amounts of nutrients and oxygen.

• Diuretics: Diuretics reduce the amount of fluid in tissues and increase urine output. Diuretics, given intravenously meaning into the vein to the person with traumatic brain injury, help reduce pressure inside the brain. 

Surgery can be the last resort for treatment for a brain injury and to help minimize additional damage to brain tissues. Surgery may be used to relieve pressure inside the skull by draining accumulated cerebrospinal fluid which is a fluid that surrounds and protects the brain and spinal cord. This creates a window in the skull that provides more room for swollen tissues. This is used to address the following problems:

• Removing clotted blood (hematomas): Bleeding outside or within the brain can result in a collection of clotted blood (hematoma) that puts pressure on the brain and damages brain tissue.

• Repairing skull fractures: Surgery may be needed to repair severe skull fractures or to remove pieces of skull in the brain.

• Bleeding in the brain: Head injuries that cause bleeding in the brain may need surgery to stop the bleeding.

Rehabilitation is another type of treatment, and it happens post-surgery to help regain functions of the brain and improve their ability to do daily activities such as walking, talking, running, etc. 

There are safety precautions and measures that can be taken to lower the risk of getting a brain injury, including wearing a seat belt when driving, wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle, improving daily exercise for balance and strength, etc. We should all be taking these safety measures into account to prevent any injury to our brains and our bodies in general. 

References: 

Brain Injury Association of America. (2025, January 16). What is a Brain Injury? - Brain Injury Association of America. https://biausa.org/brain-injury/about-brain-injury/what-is-a-brain-injury

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). (n.d.). National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/traumatic-brain-injury-tbi#toc-who-is-more-likely-to-get-a-traumatic-brain-injury-

Brain Injury Awareness Month — March 2019. (2019). MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 68(10), 237. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6810a1

Collins, M. T. (2025, March 3). 5 Fast Facts in honor of Brain Injury Awareness Month 2025. Mid-Atlantic Concussion Alliance. https://macconcussion.com/5-fast-facts-in-honor-of-brain-injury-awareness-month/#:~:text=It's%20March%2C%20and%20that%20means,About%20Concussions%20and%20Brain%20Health%E2%80%9D.