Chapter 6: Body and Behavior "Protect Your Brain"

Introduction
Students have read about the brain and its essential role in coordinating movement and stimulating thinking and emotions. In this exercise, students will explore the symptoms associated with traumatic brain injury.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Centre for Neuro Skills/TBI Resource Guide Web site to research traumatic brain injury. Students will read about nerve cell damage and symptoms of traumatic brain injury. They will also be able to explore an interactive brain map that identifies the areas of the brain and the functions of each part. Students will then answer four questions and apply this information by preparing an informational pamphlet that convinces readers to wear helmets while bicycling or skating.

Instructional Objectives
1. Students will be able to identify the parts of the brain, the functions of those areas, and the problems that occur after injury to those areas.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to prepare a pamphlet that convinces its audience to protect their brains by wearing helmets while bicycling or skating.

Student Web Activity Answers
1. During the impact of an accident, the brain ricochets inside the skull. This can cause localized damage, particularly if the brain bounces off bony protrusions near the brain stem, frontal lobes, or temporal lobes. The impact can also cause the nerve cells to be torn from one another, resulting in diffuse axonal injury.
2. A blow or jolt to the head can result in a concussion, and the effects can be serious. A physician should evaluate mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), also called Post-Concussion Syndrome. Symptoms can include headaches that get worse, vomiting, weakness, numbness or decreased coordination, one pupil larger than the other, convulsions or seizures, slurred speech, inability to awaken, confusion, restlessness, or agitation. Other symptoms can include the patient just not feeling normal and lacking motivation and energy. It is not always evident if a person has suffered brain injury, and so it is very important to watch for symptoms after a blow to the head.
3. Located at the front of the cranium and large in size, the frontal lobes are the center of our emotions and control motor functions, cognitive skills, spontaneity, memory, language, judgment, and social and sexual behavior. Because the frontal lobes house so many functions, damage in that area results in the widest variety of symptoms. Unfortunately, the frontal lobes are also extremely vulnerable to injury due to their location.
4. The brain is the basis of our consciousness. When the brain is damaged, it changes the way a person responds to stimuli. Personality changes can be subtle—like fewer spontaneous facial movements and difficulty in speaking—or significant with dramatic changes in social behavior. Individuals may develop depression, psychopathic tendencies, or abnormal sexual behavior. When damage to the brain results in difficulty in interpreting the environment, individuals may act impulsively or inappropriately.
5. Students' pamphlets will vary, but should use evidence gathered from the Web site to make a clear and persuasive argument in favor of wearing helmets while biking or skating.

Student Web Activity