Brain Cavernoma -
How the Brain Works and What Can Change After Injury

A cavernoma is a vascular malformation, made up of abnormal blood vessels. It is filled with blood that flows slowly through these vessels. that can sometimes bleed/leak blood.

When the cavernoma is in the brain, it potentially can cause an acquired brain injury (a change in brain function following bleeding) depending on the location and severity of the bleed.

When the symptoms from a cavernoma related bleed/leak in the brain lasts longer than a day, this is called a ‘Haemorrhagic Stroke’ (brain haemorrhage).

Every part of the brain has a different role. When a cavernoma bleeds or affects surrounding tissue, it may change how a person thinks, feels, moves, speaks, sees, or behaves. Recovery and long-term outcomes vary between individuals

Not ever bleed/leak will cause symptoms.

Functions of Key Brain Areas -What They Do

Frontal Lobe

Temporal Lobe

Parietal Lobe

Optical Lobe

Brainstem

Cerebellum

Frontal Lobe Controls:

Attention
Decision making
Emotional, social, sexual control
Expressive language
Verbal expression
Judgement
Spontaneity
Problem solving
Motivation Motor integration
Voluntary movement Sequencing
Reading (the perception and recognition of printed words)
Visual perception
Visual processing

This area helps you organise your thoughts, focus attention and interact socially.

Parietal Lobe Controls:

Sensation and touch processing
Spatial awareness (understanding where your body is in space)
Object recognition
Movement coordination

The parietal lobe integrates sensory information from the body and supports understanding of space and touch.

Temporal Lobe Controls:

Behaviour (aggressive)
Face recognition
Short- term memory
Receptive language
Language comprehension
Musical awareness
Selective attention
Object categorisation
Locating objects

This lobe plays a key role in how we understand and remember what we hear and see.

Occipital Lobe Controls:

Vision processing
Interpreting shapes, colours and motion

This area helps the brain make sense of what the eyes see.

Brain Stem Controls:

Arousal and sleep regulation
Balance and movement
Autonomic nervous system (heart rate, breathing etc)
Level of alertness
Swallowing food and fluid.

The brainstem keeps critical body systems running automatically.

Cerebellum Controls:

Balance and equilibrium
Eye movement
Coordination of voluntary movement
Gross and fine motor coordination
Postural control

Important for smooth and coordinated physical activity.

What Might Be Affected After a Brain Injury

Every brain injury is unique because no two people with the same injury will react and respond

exactly the same. Changes in brain function depend on which part of the brain is affected.

Frontal Lobe possible changes or difficulties with:

Spontaneity Verbal expression
Sequencing
Voluntary movements
Perseveration
Attention Inflexible thinking
Personality changes
Problem-solving

Disinhibition

Temporal Lobe possible changes or difficulties with:

Recognising faces
Short-term memory
Naming objects
More aggressive behaviour
Understanding words
Persistent talking
Selective attention
Change in sexuality

Parietal Lobe possible changes or difficulties with:

Right/left confusion
Mathematics
Spelling
Impaired touch
Language disorder
Perception
Spatial awareness
Manipulating objects

Occipital Lobe possible changes or difficulties with:

Visual field loss (partial vision loss)
Distorted perception of shapes or colours

Brain Stem possible changes or difficulties with:

Automatic movements
Co-ordinated movements
Regulating sleep
Controlling breathing
Heart rate
Swallowing
Dizziness

Cerebellum possible changes or difficulties with:

Movement co-ordination
Tremors/dizziness
Slurred speech
Postural control
Eye movements

MRI Scan Image of a

Brain Stem Cavernoma

Brain Cavernoma - How the Brain Works and What Can Change After Injury

What Might Be Affected After a Brain Injury

Brain Cavernoma -
How the Brain Works and What Can Change After Injury