Etiology of brain damage: A neuropsychological contribution in its theoretical construction (First part)

Abstract

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 presente.