Acquired brain damage generates a series of neuropsychological alterations, among which we can highlight aphasia. This syndrome is characterized by language impairment, with its main features being deficits in fluency, comprehension, repetition, naming, reading, writing and calculation. In this article we present the case of a patient suffering from global aphasia, who presents severe linguistic alterations. The state of the disease and its neuropsychological condition are analyzed. Finally, we close this analysis, highlighting the need for a correct neuropsychological approach at the level of diagnosis and rehabilitation which can help the patient.
Daño cerebral adquirido
Análisis neuropsicológico de un caso de daño talámico. ¿Por qué el paciente presenta una nueva holgazanería y una ingenuidad adquirida?. Neuropsychological analysis of a case of thalamic damage. Why does he present a new laziness and acquired naiveté?.
Acquired brain damage is a topic of central interest in neuropsychology, since it allows us to understand the relationship between cognition, behavior and emotion with pathological brain functioning. On this occasion, we present a case with a cerebrovascular disease that, as a result of damage at the thalamic level, presents executive, emotional, linguistic, and memory disorders. This is a 52-year-old patient who presents signs and symptoms such as personal insouciance, lack of motivation to seek employment, problems regulating his behavior, among others. We analyze the case regarding the role of the thalamus in global brain functioning and the need to carry out a correct follow-up with the patient.
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Palabras clave: Daño cerebral adquirido,
disfunción ejecutiva,
enfermedad cerebrovascular,
neuropsicología,
Tálamo,
El Uso de Programas Computarizados y su Efectividad en la Rehabilitación de Funciones Ejecutivas en Daño Cerebral Adquirido. The Use Of Computer Programs And Their Effectiveness In The Rehabilitation Of Executive Functions In Acquired Brain Damage.
Given the increase in the offer of computerized programs for the neuropsychological rehabilitation of patients with acquired brain damage, it is important to know their efficacy and the advantages of their application on different processes. This article reviews the use of these programs in the neuropsychological rehabilitation of executive functions in patients with acquired brain damage.
The search was carried out in sources such as PUBMED, internet searches and some lists of bibliographic references. Controlled, randomized articles were reviewed, and due to the characteristics of the topic, quasi-experimental studies and a case study, adults, were also included, excluding only articles that included adults patients with acquired brain damage and who had executive function failure without specify one in particular and that they have received cognitive rehabilitation through computer programs. The results reflect weaknesses in the matching of the control groups, the size of their samples, and in the use of instruments for measuring executive functions to objectify efficacy. In general, the programs reviewed do not prove to be more effective than those of traditional pencil and paper interventions.
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Palabras clave: Daño cerebral adquirido,
Funciones Ejecutivas,
ordenador,
rehabilitación neuropsicológica,
Etiología del Daño Cerebral: Un Aporte Neuropsicológico en su Construcción Teórica (Primera Parte). Etiology Of Brain Damage: A Neuropsychological Contribution In Its Theoretical Construction (First Part)
The brain is the organ responsible for all the brilliant activities that human beings perform, such as thinking, acting, speaking, solving problems, making decisions, regulating emotions and other fascinating mental abilities. Any of these brain functions can be damaged at the least expected moment, generating cognitive and behavioral problems in the patient who suffers from acquired brain damage. This article proposes a theoretical review of various etiological factors of brain damage: (a) the most frequent of them, traumatic brain injury (TBI), a condition that causes a range of cognitive and behavioral deficiencies, in addition to being the main cause of prolonged dysfunction in industrialized countries; (b) brain tumors are also an important etiological factor, since any area of the Central Nervous System (CNS) can be affected and the effects are very varied according to the location of the tumor, its level of severity, its nature and whether or not surgery was performed; (c) thirdly, epilepsy is presented as a neurological disease present in 50 million people around the world and whose consequences on the CNS are related to seizures and anti-seizure drugs; finally, (d) the neurobiology of child abuse is exposed, which can generate alterations in the brain configuration of a minor. In each of these factors, its definition, classification, associated risk factors and, finally, what is its effect on the brain and the nature of the damage will be presented.
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Palabras clave: Daño cerebral adquirido,
Epilepsia,
maltrato infantil,
traumatismo craneoencefálico,
tumores cerebrales,
El Pensamiento Moral Después del Daño Cerebral Adquirido. Moral Thought After Acquired Cerebral Damage.
Introduction. Moral thinking is a mental skill that allows respecting implicit and explicit social norms. One factor that can alter its functioning is acquired brain damage, as is the case of subjects who have suffered a brain injury at the frontal lobe. Aim. To analyze the relationship between the process of moral thinking and brain functioning, through the description of cases that have suffered acquired brain damage, with the purpose of explaining the situation that an individual lives after presenting brain damage and becoming unable to respect social norms. Development. The clinic of patients who have suffered brain damage at the frontal level, such as Phineas Gage, NN and Elliot, is shown, in which it was observed that its state after the traumatic event was characterized by going back to previous stages of thinking moral, unlike a subject who may present brain damage in later structures. Conclusions. We discuss the analysis performed on the role of the frontal lobe in the process of respecting social norms that allow human interaction and how it can be affected by brain damage.
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Futbolistas Talentosos, el Gran Secreto Está en el Cerebro: La Gran Tragedia del Marshal y la Suerte de los Magos con un Sistema Nervioso Indemne. Talented Soccer Players, The Big Secret Is In The Brain: The Great Tragedy Of The Star Player And The Fate Of Magicians With A Preserved Nervous Systems.
In previous work, we have presented case studies from fascinating films for the eye of the neuropsychologist;1,2,3 continuing with this line of research, we describe here for your consideration a critical analysis of the role of brain functions in one of the most fascinating sports, soccer. In this analysis, we will look more closely at the brain damage suffered by the great footballer Salvador Cabañas and the role of the highly complex brain functions that allow the magical players to stand out in this sport. In the next pages, we present the case of Salvador Cabañas, both before and after his cerebral accident, and later we analyze the cerebral functions that are activated in brilliant players like Messi or Ronaldinho. We conclude this article by reflecting on the role of the brain in our normal human activities, and how catastrophic it becomes on a daily basis when our brain tissue is damaged so that as a result of this condition we can lose everything.
