How does Trauma Affect Cognitive Functioning?

Abstract

The holistic contextual study of trauma, and it's effects on the cognitive functioning is analyzed in detail. In order to understand the traumatic effects on cognitive abilities, the relationship between trauma and brain is essential. The research encompasses the effect of trauma on the cognitive, emotional and behavioral abilities of a person.

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Discussion4

How trauma effects the cognitive functioning4

Symptoms6

Studies7

Diagnosis and treatment7

Cognitive deficit in children8

Conclusion8

References10

How does Trauma Affect Cognitive Functioning?

Introduction

Trauma can cause brain injury or traumatic brain injury, which has a strong impact on vital, physical, cognitive, and psychological abilities. The physical damages include coordination (such as eye hand coordination), ambulation, motor skills, balance, tolerance and strength. The Cognitive deficits include damage to communication and language capabilities, memory, processing and interpreting information, and visual perceptual abilities. The Psychological deficits also occur such as schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease etc (http://www.neuroskills.com).

The detailed explanation of brain's physiology, its functions, and changes that occur in response to trauma is essential. It will help in understanding the impact of trauma on the cognitive functioning in humans. The trauma can be accidents (also sports related injuries) and several other types. How it impacts the brain and how the symptoms appear in a person reveal the relationship between trauma and cognitive activities. The symptoms could be obvious and sometimes, it is not obvious. Therefore, it is important to be aware of symptoms to avoid severe effects, which becomes difficult to treat in order to restore the normal cognitive functioning.

Discussion

The traumatic injury to Brain can happen in a variety of ways occur in many ways. Usually it occurs when the head strikes roughly with any object or as a result of accidents (including in sports like soccer, swimming and boxing) other traumatic brain injuries occur due to poisoning, insufficient oxygen supply or an infection and it causes same cognitive deficits (http://www.neuroskills.com).

The relationship between the brain and its cognitive functions is intricate and becomes prominent at the time when brain is damaged or becomes dysfunctional. Centers like CNBC have conducted research on damaged, and healthy brains to understand the effects and causes of brain damage, (such as traumatic injuries), and how it affects the cognitive functions and physical structure (http://www.cnbc.cmu.edu). Trauma can affect our perception of the world, ourselves, our method of processing information, and our behavior and response to the environment, from infancy to adulthood. We need to understand the brain functions in effect to trauma to analyze the alterations in cognitive functions.

How trauma effects the cognitive functioning

Trauma causing the alterations in cognitive functions can occur at infancy or any time in life. The right hemisphere of brain controls all the significant functions necessary for survival and helps an organism to deal with stress (Schore, 2001, pp. 41). It also monitors visual perception and emotions. Numerous other scientists suggested all vital and dominant reactions to stress takes place in the right half of the brain. The negative alteration to capability to regulate the response to stress can occur even ...