Brain tumors are an aberrant buildup of cells that can occur in virtually any area of the skull. Some brain tumors amass on the surface of the hemispheres, while some tumors accumulate in the interior crevices of the lobes. While many people automatically assume brain tumors are cancerous, not all tumors are malignant. However, both benign and cancerous brain tumors can cause a host of strange side effects in patients, one of which is a shift in personality.
Causes
Brain tumors are predominately caused by one of two factors: DNA mutations or the spreading of cancer cells. Tumors that start in the brain, called primary brain tumors, are typically the result of cell DNA mutations caused by the pituitary. These tumors can be either benign or cancerous.
The other way brain tumors form is when cancer cells from another part of the body, such as the breast or prostate, migrate to the brain tissue and accumulate. Needless to say, these tumors are always malignant.
Symptoms
As tumors grow on or within brain cells, they irritate, pinch, and strain the surrounding tissue resulting in a variety of symptoms. Some common symptoms of a brain tumor include headaches, random vomiting, compromised balance, decrease in physical sensation, seizures, loss of hearing and emotional disturbances. Which symptoms are experienced are the result of where the tumor is located in the brain and how large it is.
Considerations
One of the most characteristic symptoms of a is unexplained alteration in personality. Personality is a complex combination of habits, memories and perceptions, all of which are stored in the frontal lobe of the brain, located just behind the forehead. It is almost certain that growths around this area of the brain will cause personality disturbances, however, tumors in other areas of the brain can cause shifts in the shape, pathways and density of the frontal lobe that can also cause personality changes.
Effects
A common way that a brain tumor can affect an individual's personality is to cause chemical depression due to a disruption in the normal production of the brain chemicals serotonin and melatonin. Obsessive-compulsive behavior and sexual dysfunction are also commonly observed. However, brain tumors can also manifest in a variety of other personality shifts, such as intensifying certain pre-existing behaviors or eccentricities. In some cases, a brain tumor can completely change an individual's personality, such as turning a normally gregarious person shy or a typically conservative individual into a reckless risk taker.
Treatment
There are several treatments available for brain tumors that can potentially alleviate these personality dysfunctions and return a patient to normal. A combination of chemotherapy and cognitive rehabilitation therapy, for example, can help decrease the size of the tumor while strengthening personality traits. Surgery for brain tumors are also effective in removing the growth, however they carry the risk of making the personality changes permanent by damaging the brain further through trauma. The National Society quoted one caretaker as saying, "I took one person into surgery and came out with another."
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