Frontal lobe disorders : types, causes, effects, diagnosis, treatment

Last Updated on February 2, 2023 by Dr. Saqib Mueed

There are four lobes present in the brain, the frontal lobe is one of them. But it controls major functions such as human skills like memory making, sexual behavior, etc. So it is also called the control panel. They are also responsible for motor function. 

In the human brain, the frontal lobe is higher its mass and has restricted and less movement and is present at the posterior portion of the brain region.

The cerebral system is the part of the frontal lobe. And responsible for good and bad choices. Frontal lobe injury causes the inability of regular behaviors. Frontal lobe injury causes the deficiency of selection, initiation, planning, self-correction, sequencing, etc. ^[1]892459.pdf (hindawi.com)

Frontal lobe disorder is a type of brain disorder when the frontal lobe of brain-injured, disturbs and stops proper function, age, infection, hit, accident, surgery, etc. ^[2]Frontal Lobe Syndrome – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf (nih.gov)

Types of frontal syndromes

 They are three types of frontal lobe syndromes which are following

Orbitofrontal syndrome

In these conditions, the patients are incapable of impulse control, difficult to maintain conditions, difficult to control emotions, lack of judgments, etc

Frontal convexity syndrome

In these cases, the patient shows disinterest, slowing motor functions, unplay ahead, lack of motivation, etc

Medial frontal syndrome

In these cases, the patient shows low sensation in the lower lobe, reduced movement and also shows the indifferences between thirst and hunger, etc

Causes of frontal lobe disorder

Following the list of causes of frontal lobe disorder

Dementia

The most common type of disorder in which the person is affected under the age of 65 is a group of disorders. Which affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. in which the person changes their mood and personality. Poor judgment, Lack of inhibition, Compulsive behavior, Inability for planning, Abrupt mood changes, Speech difficulties are the main symptoms of dementia. ^[3]Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia

Stroke

In which the vessel which is responsible to carry the blood to the frontal lobe may be damaged due to bleeding and interceptions of blood so the frontal lobe cannot work properly

Brain tumors

Frontal lobe disorder having tumors is caused, behavioral and limits the knowledge, inhibits the motivations, loss of sense of smell and vision, one side of the body is paralyzed, limit mental abilities and also affect the primary and secondary memory loss. ^[4]Brain Tumors – Classifications, Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatments (aans.org)

Huntington’s disease

It is a genetic disorder that is caused due to damage of brain cells in the brain and it affects mental ability which has no cure. ^[5]Huntington’s Disease (alz.org)

 Infections

Certain types of infections such as clotting in the brain. Which may cause infection and the same types of bacterial and viral infection may cause frontal lobe disorder

Cerebral Palsy

The palsy may be caused due to infections or tumors and certain types of nerve cells which may damage. ^[6]www.kznhealth.gov.za/occtherapy/CPbooklet.pdf

What are the effects of frontal lobe disorder?

Following some effects of frontal lobe disorder

 Speech problem

The frontal lobe injury affect human speech to the patient cannot speak well because the patient cannot understand the languages

Changes in personality

The frontal lobe disorders change the person’s personality and they become angrier and difficulty judging the conditions.

Poor coordination

The patient cannot coordinate with the other person and cannot maintain healthy conditions.

Difficulties in impulse control

The major and important functions of frontal lobe impulse control which are responsible for coordinating the body motor and sensory functions if the frontal lobe damage them may affect the impulse control

Trouble in planning

The frontal lobe injury patients are trouble in making plans.

Low motivation

In the case of low motivation, the patient cannot believe own-self and they have no ability to motivate them-self

The low ability of creativity

In the frontal lobe disorder person, they have low ability to create things and have low creativity values

Reduced and increased sexual interest

The patient becomes more or less interested in sexual behaviors

Depression

The frontal lobe injury also causes depression in patients and changes in good and bad habits. The right frontal lobe is important for increasing the negative mood response and the left lobe decreases the negative mood

But in the case of depression, the right frontal lobe is responsible for decreasing the depression or the left increasing them. so in the case of the left frontal lobe damage may increase the depression and cause the inability. ^[7]The Effects of Frontal Lobe Damage on Everyday Problem Solving – ScienceDirect ^[8]awh108 914..928 (silverchair.com) ^[9]https://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/files/publicationmodule/@random45f5724eba2f8/CurrNeurolNeurosciRep01_1_547.pdf

Disease caused by the frontal lobe disturbance

Following the list of diseases caused by the frontal lobe disorders

Alzheimer disease

These are frontal lobe diseases short–term memory loss and muscle contraction stopped. The person cannot feed themselves. The patient can die due to heart attack and brain infection and brain tumors etc.

Parkinson disease

This is also a frontal lobe disease in these cases the muscles become rigid and loss of physical movement also disease the motor function

Schizophrenia

In this case, the patient becomes physically inactive because the neurotransmitters will not work properly, Which is important for transmitting the nerve. 

Effects of frontal lobe damage

In the frontal lobe damage can be seen by three general inabilities

•  Self-regulation
•  The limit of attention resources
•  Lack of knowledge and the ability

Memory and attention

The patients which have frontal lobe injury may often complain about that, they have substantial memory loss. 

Working memory is a closed relation with attention. Working memories are not simply how much we carry the information at a time period. But also explain the primary memory or secondary memory. In primary memory, a smaller part of memory is retrieved and in secondary memory, higher information is retrieved by an individual. The patient with frontal lobe disorder lacks memory. ^[10]https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758/BF03327261.pdf

Risk-taking

In this situation, patients have an inability to take risk

Diagnosis test

Gambling task

Gambling tasks can be performed for the detection of frontal lobe disorders.

Saccade

The saccade test is a simple movement eye test, similarly, the patient is allowed to focus the flashing of light

Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST)

The Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) is used to detect these brain disorders, But modern science proved that the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) does not diagnose the frontal lobe disorder and is not very important.

Treatments

Treatment of frontal lobe injury depends upon some cause. For example, infections can be controlled with the help of antibiotics and brain tumors can be treated with the help of surgery and chemotherapy, or radiation.

Some of the situations and treatments are below.

Memory and Attention Problems

The best way to treat the condition is by exercising and improving memory skills

Reduced Motor Skills

In this condition, we may allow activating the neuroplasticity of the brain. so other parts of the brain function the frontal lobe function to reduce the damage. For example, if the grip for holding the things is low then exercise make the grip of holding things are improved

Sudden Changes in Behavior or Personality

The person may recover from the sudden change in behavior by recovering the frontal lobe injury

Recovery of frontal lobe

The frontal lobe can be recovered or healed. Because the brain heals itself and there is always recovery for the injury and brain disease. So brain injury can be recovered for proper medicines prescribed by a doctor.  ^[11]BF03327261.pdf (springer.com)  ^[12]Diagnosis and treatment of patients with “frontal lobe” syndromes | The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences (psychiatryonline.org) ^[13]https://www.rotman-baycrest.on.ca/files/publicationmodule/@random45f5724eba2f8/ch27.pdf

Reviewed by:
Dr. Shafaat Yar Khan  (Ph.D.) 
Medical University of Vienna, Austria 
Present: University of Sargodha, Pakistan

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