The Major Parts of the Brain and The Functions Each Control

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Traumatic Brain Injury
Combat assignments are of the nature that military men and women must brace for dangerous physical impacts as they defend the interests of their nations. Often, it becomes impossible for them to withstand the impact of the enemy's actions leading to severe injuries and fatalities. The brain is one of the most sensitive organs for humans, and when attacked, that often becomes a life-changing event for the victims (Roberts & Sydenham, 2012). Traumatic brain injury (TBI) typically results from violent jolting or blowing the head or body. The consequences can be tragic if an object such as a piece of the skull or a bullet reaches the brain. When TBI occurs with no breakage on the skull, that is called closed brain injury, but when objects go through the skull and reach the brain, that is referred to as penetrating brain injury (Vega et al., 2015). However, since military activities make service members much more vulnerable to traumatic brain injuries, combat assignments are not the only causes of TBI.
TBI effects on the basal ganglia region of the brain
The basal ganglia region comprises millions of nerve cell bodies that control the body's voluntary movements. It facilitates wanted behaviors and stops unwanted ones. The victim engages typically in repetitive behaviors such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and excessive thoughts when injured. This leads to a deluded association of the person’s situation with keen attention or perfectionism, and when the person does not die, they experience intrusive thoughts, compulsions, and obsessions (Reis et al., 2015). A person who suffers severe injuries to the basal ganglia region often exhibits speech impairment, delays in moving, and loss of balance while walking. The situation is often uncorrectable, and it has always led to death.
Other circumstances that can lead to TBI
TBI affects people of all ages, races, and genders, although research has shown that men account for about 80% of TBI victims (Liu et al., 2019). Young children are pretty vulnerable to TBI because their brains are underdeveloped. Their skulls are weak, and they often fall out of beds and other high places due to poor judgment since their cognitive capabilities are still poor (Roberts & Sydenham, 2012). If their basal Anglia is injured while young, that might affect a child's entire lifetime. Domestic violence is one of the other leading causes of TBI, and it places children in a more vulnerable position than people of all ages. When a baby is shaken violently, they are likely to develop the shaken baby syndrome (SBS), leading to a swollen, bruised, and bleeding brain (Liu et al., 2019). That directly affects the basal ganglia brain region, and smooth mobility for the child is upended. When the child is dropped down on a rough surface, they can also suffer from the shaken impact syndrome (SIS).
Other circumstances that can lead to TBI include tragic motor vehicle accidents that lead to vigorous shaking of the brain or even breaking the skull leading to physical impacts on the brain tissue. Some sports and recreational activities have also exposed sportspeople to brain injuries more than others. Biking and safari rallies are some of the sports that anyone who cares about their brains must avoid (Reis et al., 2015). Hockey and golf also involve utilizing complex equipment that can impact closed or penetrating head injuries. A range of other sports, such as javelin shot puts and diving while swimming, are also sports activities that expose the brain to injuries. Gunshot wounds unrelated to combat activity also lead to brain injuries (Liu et al., 2019). This includes incidences such as when police shoot to maintain law and order or people attempt suicide by blowing their heads.
Sample Scenario
At present, the Russian military has invaded Ukraine as ordered by the authoritarian president Vladimir Putin and both sides are reporting shocking degrees of misery, life loss, and injuries. Different sources have accused the Russian soldiers of war crimes, including tying the hands of civilians to their back, blowing their heads with bullets, and burying them in shallow graves (Roberts & Sydenham, 2022). Moreover, because there are those still fighting, the scenario here is if a Ukrainian soldier in Mariupol is shot in the head and the bullet penetrates the skull to reach the basal ganglia, but the soldier survives. When the bullet enters through the upper side of either of the ears, the likelihood of the basal ganglia region being reached is higher (Reis et al., 2015). The soldier will first suffer a concussion and need immediate hospitalization. The basal ganglia are in charge of motor control and movement for the soldier; therefore becomes difficult.
Figure 1: The basal ganglia region of the brain
Source: (Vega et al., 2015)
Symptoms/results of TBI Affecting the Basal Ganglia Region
When the military officer suffers basal ganglia damage, one of the most common effects is that he will suffer a range of motor deficits. If they survive, the worst motor deficit they will suffer is permanent or temporary paralysis. The soldier might be forced to spend the rest of their life in a wheelchair or...