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(EMAILWIRE.COM, March 01, 2011 ) BOSTON, MA - Imagine having no concept of the left. Hard to imagine, right? It may seem hard to imagine, but it is a common side effect of many traumatic brain injuries. The condition is called left neglect.
In a new book entitled, "Left Neglected", a very busy mother who holds a high-power corporate job has a car accident which leads to a traumatic brain injury, or a TBI. After the crash, the woman discovers that she has a condition called left neglect which is caused by damage to the right hemisphere of the brain that leaves it unable to process information on on the left perceptual field. Lisa Genova, the author of the book, says that patients with this condition simply do not know that anything is there anymore. Genova is also a neuroscientist who holds a doctorate from Harvard.
Genova wanted to write her book because she wanted to understand how one would make life accommodations for such a disorder. Genova spent countless hours interviewing patients with left neglect to better understand how they make accommodations and how they perceive the world around them.
In the book, the main character undergoes initial traumatic brain injury rehab, is moved to a rehabilitation center, and eventually is sent home. Throughout her treatment, she has to re-learn to recognize her left arm, left leg, and anything that is within her left visual perception area.
Genova discovered the condition while researching topics relating to depression, ParkinsonÂ’s disease, and drug addiction in technical journals and books like "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat" by Oliver Sacks.
Sacks writes about a man with whom Sacks had treated who knew that there was something in his bed but doesnÂ’t realize it is his own left leg. He tries to throw it out of bed and as a result, falls out of bed on a nightly basis.
Many head injuries result in traumatic brain injuries. Over 1.4 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury every year, and of those, 50,000 die and over 200,000 need hospitalization or brain injury treatment. Many experience altered or loss of functional ability.
LegalView is a leading, on-line legal resource for individuals and their families. LegalView is made up of four brain injury law firms which can assist individuals and their familiesÂ’ find a potential brain injury lawyer.
Not only does LegalView help those affected by a traumatic brain injury, but the organization also helps those suffering from mesothelioma, the deadly lung cancer.
About LegalView:
LegalView is a public service brought to you by Legal WebTV Network, LLC, a Limited Liability Corporation created by a group of the nationÂ’s most highly respected law firms: Anapol Schwartz; Cohen, Placitella and Roth; James F. Humphreys and Associates; and Lopez McHugh. For more information on the accomplishments and track records of LegalViewÂ’s superior sponsoring law firms and to get in touch with LegalView attorneys, visit LegalView at www.Legalview.info.
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