Las Vegas Traumatic Brain injury Attorney

CT scans can show brain bleeds, fractures of the skull, fluid build-up in the brain that will lead to increased cranial pressure.

MRI can better detect smaller injuries, detect damage within the brain, diffuse axonal injury, injuries to the brainstem, posterior fossa, and subtemporal and sub-frontal regions. However, patients with pacemakers, metallic implants, or other metal within their bodies are unable to have an MRI done. The other imaging techniques such as PET and SPECT scans are used in a clinical setting based on need, availability, and cost.

The foundation for understanding human behavior and brain injury can be attributed to the case of Phineas Gage and the famous case studies by Paul Broca.

The first case study on Phineas Gage’s head injury is one of the most astonishing brain injuries in history. In September of 1848, Phineas Gage was paving way for a new railroad line when he encountered an accidental explosion of a tamping iron straight through his frontal lobe. Gage was observed to be intellectually unaffected (he remained conscious) but exemplified marked post-injury behavioral deficits.

These deficits included becoming sporadic, disrespectful, extremely profane, and having no regard for other workers. Gage had many particular symptoms in the years to follow. He started having seizures in February 1860 and then died four months later on May 21, 1860.

One year later in 1861, Paul Broca examined two patients exhibiting impaired speech due to frontal lobe injuries. Broca’s first patient lacked productive speech. He saw this as an opportunity to address language localization. It wasn’t until Leborgne, formally known as “tan”, died when Broca confirmed the frontal lobe lesion from an autopsy. The second patient had similar speech impairments, supporting his findings on language localization. The results of both cases became a vital verification of the relationship between speech and the left cerebral hemisphere. The affected areas are known today as Broca’s area and Broca’s Aphasia.

Twelve years later in 1874, a German neuroscientist, Carl Wernicke, consulted on a stroke patient. The patient experienced neither speech nor hearing impairments but suffered from a few brain deficits including lacking the ability to comprehend what was spoken to him and the words written down. After his death, Wernicke examined his autopsy and found a lesion located in the left temporal region. This area became known as Wernicke’s area. Wernicke later hypothesized the relationship between Wernicke’s area and Broca’s area, which was a proven fact.