What part of the brain controls remembering names?

Frontal Lobe

Your brain’s frontal lobe is home to areas that manage thinking, emotions, personality, judgment, self-control, muscle control and movements, memory storage and more. Just as its name indicates, it’s the forward-most area of your brain. Your frontal lobe is a key area of study for both brain-related and mental health-related fields of medicine.

Appointments 866.588.2264
Appointments & Locations
Request an Appointment

Overview

What is the frontal lobe?

The frontal lobe is one of five lobes of your brain. This section of your brain works cooperatively with many other brain areas, giving you a wide range of abilities. Anything you do that involves thinking or conscious action relies on abilities contained within your frontal lobe.

Function

What does the frontal lobe do?

Your frontal lobe handles many abilities, including:

Reasoning: This includes simple and complex processing of information. Logic, reasoning, judgment, decision-making and creativity all fall into this category.
Social understanding: Your frontal lobe controls your understanding of social norms and helps determine what you should and shouldn’t do or say.
Executive functions: Some examples of these include self-control and inhibitions, attention span and working memory.
Voluntary muscle movements: These are intentional movements, such as moving your hand to pick something up or moving your legs to stand up and walk around. Your frontal lobe also contains the brain area that controls the muscles you use for speaking.
Learning and recalling information: This is your brain’s ability to process and learn new information for later use. Your frontal lobe also helps retrieve information later.

Anatomy

Where is the frontal lobe located?

As the name suggests, the frontal lobe is at the front of your head. It’s the section of your brain just behind your forehead.

How big is the frontal lobe?

Experts estimate that the frontal lobe makes up between 25% and 40% of your brain’s cerebral cortex. (The estimated range is wider because your brain doesn’t have clear boundaries between areas, so different studies used different ways to define the boundaries.) The word “cortex” comes from Latin and means “tree bark.” The cortex is the wrinkly-textured outer surface of your brain.

What is the frontal lobe made of?

Your frontal lobe consists of the same specialized cells found throughout your brain. The basic cell types are:

Neurons: These are the cells in your brain and nerves that can send or relay signals to other neurons. The signals travel as electricity, or “impulses” inside your neurons. Your neurons convert the electrical signals into chemicals that are released outside of the neuron. The next neuron detects the chemicals and triggers another impulse. In this way, a message travels quickly within and across neurons.
Glial cells: These are your nervous system’s support cells. They don’t manage signals. Instead, they maintain the neurons by clearing waste matter, providing nutrients and offering structural support.

Conditions and Disorders

What common conditions and disorders affect the frontal lobe?

Any condition that can affect your brain tissue can affect your frontal lobe. There are also some neurodevelopmental (brain development-related) conditions that specifically involve frontal lobe effects and symptoms. Conditions and symptoms that can affect your frontal lobe include:

Alzheimer’s disease.
Expressive aphasia (also known as Broca’s aphasia, which affects how you talk, but not what you say).
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Autism spectrum disorder.
Brain lesions (either from diseases or with damage from surgery or medical procedures).
Brain tumors (including cancer).
Carbon monoxide poisoning.
Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.
Corticobasal degeneration.
Frontotemporal dementia (including conditions like Pick’s disease).
Genetic conditions (such as Huntington’s disease or Wilson’s disease).
Headaches and migraines.
Heavy metal poisoning or other toxins.
Infections (including those that cause encephalitis).
Mental health conditions, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders and personality disorders.
Lewy body dementia.
Seizures (especially frontal lobe seizures) and seizure-related conditions such as epilepsy.
Stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA).

What are some common signs or symptoms of frontal lobe conditions?

There are dozens (if not more) of possible signs and symptoms of frontal lobe conditions. These signs and symptoms can vary widely for two reasons:

Your frontal lobe manages many different abilities.
Many different conditions can affect your temporal lobe.

While the list of symptoms that can affect your frontal lobe is long, there are a few types of symptoms that are especially common. These include:

Personality changes.
Trouble with reasoning, paying attention, organizing, planning or switching your attention between two tasks.
Executive dysfunction.
Difficulty controlling your impulses, including what you say or do.
Certain forms of amnesia (memory loss).
Trouble with moving certain muscles, including muscles you use to talk.

What are some common tests to check the health of the frontal lobe?

There are many ways healthcare providers can check the health of your frontal lobe. These include diagnostic tests, lab tests, imaging scans and more. Examples include:

Blood tests (these can detect many problems, ranging from immune system problems to toxins and poisons, especially metals like copper, mercury or lead).
Computed tomography (CT) scan.
Electroencephalogram (EEG).
Electromyogram (nerve conduction test).
Evoked potentials (sensory tests).
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Neuropsychological testing.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan.

Weiterlesen:

What percent blockage requires bypass?

What are common treatments for conditions affecting the frontal lobe?

The treatments for frontal lobe-related conditions can vary even more widely than the conditions they treat. Your healthcare provider is the best person to tell you about the treatments that are possible and that they recommend.

Care

What can I do to take care of my frontal lobe?

You can do many things to maintain the health of your entire brain, including your frontal lobe. Some brain-related conditions are preventable. Others aren’t preventable, but you may be able to reduce your risk of developing them. Some things you can do to maintain your brain health include:

Eat a balanced diet: Your diet affects your circulatory health, which is important for your brain to work correctly (a stroke is an example of a condition that happens when circulatory disorders affect your brain). Too much or too little of certain vitamins can also affect your brain.
Reach and maintain a weight that’s healthy for you, and find ways to be physically active: Your weight and activity level can prevent or delay conditions that affect your brain, especially circulatory issues like high blood pressure. Your primary care provider can advise you on what weight range is healthy for you and help you find ways to reach and stay in that range. Physical activity also benefits brain health directly, encouraging good circulation and how your brain produces key signaling chemicals known as neurotransmitters.
Wear safety equipment as needed: Your frontal lobe is especially prone to concussions and traumatic brain injuries. That’s because this part of your brain is at the very front of your head, meaning it’s very vulnerable. Helmets, safety restraints (such as seat belts) and other types of protective gear are essential to preventing serious injuries.
Manage your chronic conditions: Many conditions that affect your brain worsen over time. However, treating those conditions can sometimes stop them or delay how long it takes for them to worsen. Examples of conditions like this include Type 2 diabetes, epilepsy and more.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s an interesting fact about the frontal lobe?

Your frontal lobe contains brain areas that manage who you are — especially your personality — and how you behave. Your ability to think, solve problems and build social relationships, sense of ethics and right vs. wrong all rely on parts of your frontal lobe.

Experts know this because of a railroad foreman named Phineas Gage. In 1848, an accidental explosion at a railroad construction site propelled an iron rod through Gage’s head, destroying the left side of his frontal lobe. Before the accident, Gage was a calm, respected leader among his coworkers. Gage survived, but after the accident, his personality changed. He would lose his temper, act disrespectfully and constantly use profanity.

However, Gage’s personality changes weren’t permanent. Four years after his accident, Gage moved to Chile in South America and became a stagecoach driver. Somewhere in late 1858 or early 1859, a doctor who examined Gage said he was physically healthy and showed “no impairment whatever of his mental faculties.”

While Gage mostly recovered from the accident, he died from seizures in San Francisco in 1860. The seizures were very likely the result of damage from the accident. However, his case remains one of the most useful in modern medicine’s understanding of what the frontal lobe does, especially when it comes to your personality.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

When you think about your frontal lobe, you’re telling a part of your brain to think about itself. Your frontal lobe is one of the most important sections of your brain. It controls or manages many abilities you use throughout your everyday life. It’s also home to areas that control your personality, emotions, judgment and more. Caring for your frontal lobe and getting treatment for conditions that affect it can make a big difference in how it works and contributes to your life.

Left Brain vs. Right Brain

Left-brained people are supposed to be logical, analytical, and methodical, while right-brained people are supposed to be creative, disorganized, and artistic. But this left-brain / right-brain theory has been refuted by a large-scale, two-year study by researchers at the University of Utah. In other words, it is untrue that logical people predominantly use the left side of the brain and artistic people predominantly use the right. All people use both halves of the brain. However, the stereotypes associated with being left- or right-brained persist and continue to arouse curiosity.

This comparison explains some myths and facts about the topic and compares what are now only metaphors of left-brained and right-brained personality types.

Comparison chart

Left Brain versus Right Brain comparison chart

	Left Brain	Right Brain
Functions	Speech and language, logical analysis and reasoning, mathematical computations.	Spatial awareness, intuition, facial recognition, visual imagery, music awareness, art, rhythm.
Traits	Linear thinking, sequential processing, logical decision-making, reality-oriented.	Holistic thinking, random processing, intuitive decision-making, non-verbal processing, fantasy-oriented.
Perceived personality traits	Analytical, logical, pay attention to detail	Creative, artistic, open-minded.
Overall Thinking	Linear, detail-oriented — «details to whole» approach.	Holistic, big-picture oriented — «whole to details» approach.
Thought process	Sequential; verbal (process with words).	Random; non-verbal (process with visuals).
Problem-solving	Logical — order/pattern perception; emphasis on strategies.	Intuitive — spatial/abstract perception; emphasis on possibilities.
Controls muscles on	Right side of the body.	Left side of the body.
Strengths	Mathematics, analytics, reading, spelling, writing, sequencing, verbal and written language.	Multi-dimensional thinking, art, music, drawing, athletics, coordination, repairs, remembers faces, places, events.
Difficulties	Visualization, spatial/abstract thinking,	Following by sequence, understanding parts, organizing a large body of information, remembering names.
When damaged	Trouble speaking or understanding spoken or written words; slow, careful movements; inability to see things on the right side of the body.	Trouble with visual perception (understanding how far or near something is); neglect of left side of the body; inability to see things to the left; poor decision making; impulsiveness; short attention span; slow learning of new things.

Weiterlesen:

What makes a man feel respected?

Background

The theory of right brain vs. left brain dominance originates with Nobel Prize winning neurobiologist and neuropsychologist Roger Sperry. Sperry discovered that the left hemisphere of the brain usually functions by processing information in rational, logical, sequential, and overall analytical ways. The right hemisphere tends to recognize relationships, integrate and synthesize information, and arrive at intuitive thoughts.

These findings, while true, serve as the basis for the now-disproved theory that people who are logical, analytical and methodical are left-brain dominant, and those who are creative and artistic are right-brain dominant.

A study conducted at the University of Utah has debunked the myth. Neuroscientists analyzed over 1,000 brain scans from people between the ages of seven and 29. The brain scans did not show any evidence that people use one side of the brain more than the other. Essentially, the brain is interconnected, and the two hemispheres support each other in its processes and functions.

Lateralization of Brain Function

The human brain is split into two distinct cerebral hemispheres connected by the corpus callosum. The hemispheres exhibit strong bilateral symmetry regariding structure as well as function. For instance, structurally, the lateral sulcus generally is longer in the left hemisphere than in the right hemisphere, and functionally, Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area are located in the left cerebral hemisphere for about 95% of right-handers, but about 70% of left-handers. Neuroscientist and Nobel laureate Roger Sperry has contributed significantly to the research of lateralization and split-brain function.

Brain Process and Functions

The left hemisphere of the brain processes information analytically and sequentially. It focuses on the verbal and is responsible for language. It processes from details into a whole picture. The left hemisphere’s functions include order and pattern perception as well as creating strategies. The left hemisphere controls the muscles on the right side of the body.

The right hemisphere of the brain processes information intuitively. It focuses on the visual and is responsible for attention. It processes from the whole picture to details. The right hemisphere’s functions include spatial perception and seeing possibilities in situations. The right hemisphere controls the muscles on the left side of the body.

Result of Damage

When people sustain an injury or have a stroke that’s localized on one side of the brain, they have specific troubles. When the left hemisphere of the brain is damaged, people have difficulty speaking or understanding words either said or written down. They cannot see things on the right side of the body. It affects motor skills (limb apraxia [1]) and they often move slowly and carefully.

People with damage to the right hemisphere of the brain often have trouble with visual perception and spatial orientation[2], for example, getting a sense of how far or near an object is in relation to the body. They often neglect the left side of the body, and they’re not able to see things on the left. These people are often impulsive and make poor decisions. They also have a short attention span, and their ability to read, process some elements of language [3] or learn new things is slowed down.

Application in WW-II

If a specific region of the brain, or even an entire hemisphere, is either injured or destroyed, its functions can sometimes be assumed by a neighboring region in the ipsilateral hemisphere or a corresponding region in the contralateral hemisphere, depending upon the area damaged and the patient’s age.

Michael Gazzaniga, neuroscientist and a protégé of Sperry, talks about the specific case of WJ, a WWII veteran and epileptic patient as a result of war injury. He was the first veteran to undergo experimental split-brain surgery, which was successful. To quote Gazzaniga from his interview:

WJ was the first moment of excitement, he made a slow recovery from surgery, he was about 50 when he was operated on so I remember him visiting Caltech, coming up in a wheelchair in a protective helmet and all kinds of gear. Anyway we rolled him in to our testing room and these were really first days so it was very crude, we had the pipes that sent the water to the various labs and everything were open and exposed in the ceiling and so we literally threw a rope over them and hung this screen that you could back-project on, and then using a little gadget we could flash pictures to one side of a fixation point and accordingly, if you know how the visual system is hooked up, if you flashed it to the left of the fixation point that went exclusively to your right hemisphere, and if you flashed it to the right it went exclusively to your left hemisphere. It’s just the way we’re wired up.

The Stereotype

People who are analytical and logical and who pay attention to detail are said to be left-brain dominant, i.e., they use the left side of the brain more than the right side. Basic characteristics of left-brain thinking include logic, analysis, sequencing, linear thinking, mathematics, language, facts, thinking in words, remembering song lyrics and computation. When solving problems, left-brained people tend to break things down and make informed, sensible choices. Typical occupations include being a lawyer, judge, or banker.

Weiterlesen:

What percent of CEOs are dyslexic?

People who are creative, artistic and open-minded are said to be right-brain dominant, and the right side of their brain is more dominant. Basic characteristics of right-brain thinking include creativity, imagination, holistic thinking, intuition, arts, rhythm, non-verbal, feelings, visualization, recognizing a tune and daydreaming. When solving problems, right-brained people tend to rely on intuition or a «gut reaction.» Typical occupations include politics, acting, and athletics.

What’s True

The Laterlaization of Brain Function: It is true that the two lateral halves of the brain have neurons or receptors for different functions. There is evidence to show that some cognitive functions like speech and language are linked with the left hemisphere, while face recognition are in the right hemisphere. However, even for the specific functions to be executed, humans use the entire brain.

There exist personality types who are predominantly more analytical than artistic.

Everyone uses their brain holistically, regardless of whether they’re analytical or creative.

It is possible to be analytical/logical as well as artistic/creative and many people are.

What’s Not True

The fact that analytical people are governed by the left side of their brain or creative people are governed by the right side of their brain.

Analytical people cannot be creative (or the other way round) because only one part of their brain is dominant.

Strengths and Difficulties

Left-brained people are supposed to be good at mathematics, reading, spelling, writing, sequencing and verbal and written language. They may have difficulty with abstract visualization.

Right-brained people are supposed to be good at multi-dimensional thinking, art, music, drawing, athletics, coordination and repairs. They remember faces, places and events. However, right-brained people may have difficulty understanding parts if they can’t see the whole. They may also struggle with sequencing, organizing a large body of information and remembering names.

Of course, these are stereotypes and any individual can have strengths and weaknesses from either set. There could also be differences in the way the brain processes various categories of cognitive skills. e.g., both left-brained and right-brained people can be good at spelling but how they do it may be different. Left brains memorize the sequence of each letter in a word; right brains memorize the image of the whole word. You might see right brains raise their finger during spelling questions to draw out the word in mid air in front of their face to mentally visualize that whole word.

References

Left Brain vs. Right: It’s a Myth, Research Finds — Live Science
Left Basic Characteristics of Left and Right Brain — UCMAS
Which Way Do You Spin… Left Brain or Right Brain? — Lateral Action
The rehabilitation of limb apraxia: a study in left-brain-damaged patients. — NIH.gov
Strokes in the Left and Right Brain — University of Wisconsin-Madison
Study Challenges Theory About Left Brain/Right Brain Behavior — HealthDay
Are you a Right-Brain or Left-Brain Thinker? — University of Alabama (PDF)
An Evaluation of the Left-Brain vs. Right-Brain Hypothesis with Resting State Functional Connectivity MRI — Plos One
How an Epilepsy Treatment Shaped Our Understanding of Consciousness — The Atlantic

Functions of the Brain

The human brain is magnificent and complex. The brain is made up of many parts, each with a specific and important function. It controls our ability to balance, walk, talk, and eat. It coordinates and regulates our breathing, blood circulation, and heart rate. It is responsible for our ability to speak, to process and remember information, make decisions, and feel emotions. Every brain is unique, ever-changing, and extremely sensitive to its environment.

The brain is divided into functional sections, called lobes:

Each lobe has an important and specific function, detailed below.

Frontal Lobes Functions (Orange)

Attention
Concentration
Self-Monitoring
Organization
Expressive Language (Speaking)
Motor Planning & Initiation
Awareness of Abilities
Awareness of Limitations
Personality
Mental Flexibility
Inhibition of Behavior
Emotions
Problem Solving
Planning
Judgment

An injury to the frontal lobes may affect an individual’s ability to control emotions, impulses, and behavior or may cause difficulty recalling events or speaking.

Brain Stem Functions (Yellow)

Breathing
Arousal
Consciousness
Heart Rate
Sleep & Wake Cycles

The brain stem controls the body’s involuntary functions that are essential for survival, such as breathing and heart rate.

Weiterlesen:

What MBTI have anger issues?

Temporal Lobes Functions (Pink)

Memory
Understanding Language (Receptive Language)
Sequencing
Hearing
Organization

An injury to the temporal lobes may lead individuals to demonstrate difficulty with communication or memory.

Parietal Lobes Functions (Blue)

Sense of Touch
Spatial Perception (Depth Perception)
Identification of Sizes, Shapes, Colors
Visual Perception

Individuals who have injured their parietal lobes may have trouble with their five primary senses.

Cerebellum Functions (Red)

Balance & Coordination
Skilled Motor Activity
Visual Perception

An injury to the cerebellum may affect balance, movement, and coordination.

Occipital Lobes Functions (Green)

An injury to one’s occipital lobes may lead to trouble seeing or perceiving the size and shape of objects.

The functional sections (lobes) of the brain are also categorized by side – the right side and the left side. If you split the brain down the middle into two equally-sized parts, they are not the same and do not carry the same functions. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, while the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. Each side is responsible for different functions, and general patterns of dysfunction may occur depending on the side of the brain sustaining an injury.

The traits of each side are detailed below:

Injuries of the left side of the brain can cause:

Difficulties understanding language (receptive language)
Difficulties in speaking or verbal output (expressive language)
Catastrophic reactions (depression, anxiety)
Difficulty speaking
Impaired logic
Sequencing difficulties
Decreased control over right-sided body movements

Creative
Imaginative
Intuitive
Conceptual
Empathetic
Figurative

Injuries of the right side of the brain can cause:

Visual-spatial impairment
Visual memory deficits
Left neglect (inattention to the left side of the body)
Decreased awareness of deficits
Altered creativity and music perception
Loss of “the big picture” type of thinking
Decreased control over left-sided body movements

Continue Reading

About Brain Injury Next

Brain Injury Basics Next

Functions of the Brain Next

Brain Injury Overview Next

Understanding the Injury Next

After the Injury Next

Brain Injury Severity Next

Brain Injury Diagnosis Next

Assessments in the Hospital Next

Glasgow Coma Scale Next

Other Assessments Next

Assessments in Rehab Next

Assessments in Community-Based Care Next

Neuropsychological Assessments Next

Neuroimaging Next

Treatment Next

Hospital Next

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Next

Community-Based Treatment Next

Medications Next

Clinician Descriptions Next

Insurance & Payment Next

Adults: What to Expect Next

At Home Next

Returning to Work Next

Impact on Health Next

Relationships Next

Financial Issues Next

Children: What to Expect Next

Incidence Next

Symptoms & Recovery Next

Education Next

Financial Issues Next

mTBI/Concussion Next

Concussion Information Next

Symptoms Next

Treatment Next

Return to Learn Next

Return to Play Next

Accommodations Next

Follow-Up Care Next

CrashCourse Next

Spasticity Next

Pseudobulbar Affect (PBA) Next

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Next

Community Next

Personal Stories Next

Tell Your Story Next

Speakers Bureau Next

Caregiver Resources Next

BIAA Champions Next

COVID-19 Resources Next

Concussion Story Wall Next

Research Next

Our Sponsors

Jane Parks-McKay

Finding the Right Resources

Jane and her husband, Tim, both sustained brain injuries at different points in their lives. They live with the residual effects every day.

Finding the Right Resources

Jane Parks-McKay

Jane and her husband, Tim, both sustained brain injuries at different points in their lives. They live with the residual effects every day.

“I cannot remember when I learned about BIAA; however, knowing me, I am sure by googling TBI resources. BIAA has been extremely helpful and Greg Ayotte (BIAA’s Director of Consumer Services) has been invaluable to me with sharing solutions and information. His patience is legendary. I’m proud to be part of the organization. To know you are not alone through this is priceless. The information that is on the web and accessible through Greg Ayotte’s tireless efforts in helping me and our family over the years is invaluable. Knowledge is power, and I don’t think with TBI you can be knowledgeable enough.”

If Jane encounters confusion from someone about the behavior of either herself or Tim, she will refer that person to the BIAA website for information about brain injury. Most are grateful, many are very surprised, and others tell her they’ve learned a lot.

Melissa Shuman

Truly Not Alone

Before reaching out to her local brain injury association and finding an ABI support group, Melissa had nowhere to turn for advice.

Truly Not Alone

Melissa Shuman

Before reaching out to her local brain injury association and finding an ABI support group, Melissa had nowhere to turn for advice.

“Suddenly memories from the day before seemed like they were decades ago,” says Melissa Shuman, who has come to live with the reality of brain injury after her son, Justin, sustained an acquired brain injury (ABI) following an attempt at suicide.

Recollecting on the first few days of her son’s fight to live, Melissa made it clear she felt like she was fighting just as hard.

“I had been rushing to find out all of this information on my own while he was in a coma. It was exhausting, but who else was going to do it? That’s a mother’s job.” In addition to learning information, Melissa became Justin’s primary caretaker. She spent her days coordinating nursing, therapies, feeding, bathing, and everything else in the living room of their home. “I think I scared myself more than anything, and the doctors didn’t have too much hope, so after a while I had to stop and just believe he would get better, and advocate for what would be best for him.”

Weiterlesen:

What is the true secret to building muscle?

In the first several months following Justin’s injury, the Shuman family experienced a great deal of change. They did have health insurance, but had difficulty getting many of the services Justin needed covered without a battle. Like so many others in similar positions, Melissa became an expert in fighting with her insurance company and with the agencies providing services to her son. Justin was not a candidate for inpatient rehabilitation because his medical needs required he be sent to Long-term Acute Care (LTAC), which is essentially a step-down from a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Instead, Melissa demanded Justin come home, and spent weeks preparing and retrofitting the living room of their home to ensure his ability to live there.

“Bringing Justin home was not an easy quest, and I had no idea where to seek insight on what, how, and when to make the transition,” Melissa explained.

Melissa is enormously appreciative of the online brain injury support group to which she belongs. “It’s an A-B-I group,” she laughs, “Not TBI! TBIs are welcome, but we make sure everyone else is, too. That’s been good for me, to know I’m not alone, and Justin wasn’t alone, and even that my other children are not alone and that someone can relate to what we are going through. A lot of people, actually, relate to what we go through.”

Sarah Lefferts

Advocating for Yourself

Sarah learns that her injury may be invisible, but she isn’t — and that it’s OK to put her own needs first.

Advocating for Yourself

Sarah Lefferts

Sarah learns that her injury may be invisible, but she isn’t — and that it’s OK to put her own needs first.

It started out as an ordinary September day for Sarah Lefferts. As she was walking, she suddenly slipped on wet tile flooring and fell backward, hitting her head on the floor. When she got up, she was upset that she had spilled coffee on her dress, and she had no idea how much her life had changed in that split second.

Over the next several days, her concussion symptoms progressed. At the time of her fall, she had been working full time, attending graduate school, and had the active social life of an average twentysomething. She was not OK with her new normal and was frustrated that the healing wasn’t more immediate.

Sarah, like most of us, didn’t understand the recovery that was ahead of her. She said, “I learned a lot about how it was OK to be broken, and how I needed to communicate that to the people around me so they could understand enough to support me “even when I didn’t understand my injury.”

Her friends and family would go along to her doctors’ appointments and take notes so that she could look back later to remember what they had talked about. Early in her recovery, she used a small notebook so that she could keep her thoughts organized. She made to-do lists for everything, including basic things like taking a shower and making food.

“One of the hardest parts of the recovery wasn’t the physical healing but the social support. It’s a real challenge to figure out how to communicate to your network about what’s wrong and what you need from them. You look fine “you can walk and talk, so it’s harder for them to understand what you’re going through and what you need. Yet it’s critical that you seek support from them,” explains Sarah. It’s challenging to advocate for yourself the way you need to when part of your brain has been damaged, but you need remember to put your own physical and mental health first, even though that isn’t something society teaches us.

Under her neurologist’s care, Sarah went back to grad school in 2014, completed a triathlon in 2015, and graduated with a Master of Arts in 2016. She is now a member of the BIAA Brain Injury Advisory Council and says that the experience changed her life. “The group of people I have met through the BIAA is empowering and supportive. BIAA taught me that I am not alone in brain injury and that every injury is different. It blew me away when I realized how many people suffer from concussions and other brain injury. I feel like my responsibility on the other side of this injury is to help other people understand that this injury is often invisible, but you are not “and it’s OK to always keep striving to heal.”