Brain Injury Resource Team

Causes and Symptoms of Brain Injury

Acquired brain injuries may be caused by one or more of the following:

• traumas from accidents, falls, assaults, bicycle accidents, car/motorcycle accidents, sports injuries, and surgical procedures.
  
  
• infections (e.g. meningitis, encephalitis)
  
  
• strokes and other vascular accidents
  
  
• injuries caused by a reduction in the oxygen supply to the brain from anesthetic accidents, hanging, choking, near drownings, and severe loss of blood
  
  
• tumors of the brain
  
  
• metabolic disorders (e.g. insulin shock, liver/kidney disease)
  
  
• toxic products taken into the body through inhalation or ingestion
  
  
• impairments in one or more of the following areas: cognition, problem solving, language, perceptual and/or motor abilities, sensory, memory, social behaviors, attention, abstract thinking, reasoning, physical functions, judgement, information processing, speech, These impairments may be either temporary or permanent and may cause a partial or total functional disability or psychological difficulty.