The symptoms that may occur as a result of a brain tumour will depend upon which part of the brain is affected by the tumour. Different parts of the brain carry out various functions and can also differ between the right versus left side. So, for example, if there is a tumour in the part of the brain that produces speech it may interfere with how we communicate.
Click below to read about different parts of the brain and what they do. This will help to explain why some symptoms are occurring.
How anatomy of the brain relates to brain tumour symptoms
In order to understand these symptoms, here is a diagram of the brain naming the different lobes of the brain. This page also contains more information about each region.
In some cases, the tumour may involve more than one lobe.
Remember that not all the symptoms listed here will necessarily be experienced by the person you are caring for.
The following symptoms may occur regardless of where the tumour is located:
The following symptoms may occur regardless of where the tumour is located:
- Headaches
- Fatigue / increased tiredness
- Poor short-term memory and concentration
- Seizure-related symptoms (rare, unless present from diagnosis)
Frontal lobe
The right and left frontal lobes are located at the front of the brain (behind the forehead). They are large lobes and takes up about a third of the brain. It is the red coloured area on the diagram.
The frontal lobe is important to how we work (our functioning) in terms of:
- Thought
- Memory
- Judgement, inhibition/self-control
- Problem solving, reasoning
- Personality
- Taking initiative
- Attention
- Mood
- Movement on the opposite side of the body
Symptoms experienced by people who have a tumour in the frontal lobe may include:
- Problems with ‘executive functioning’ (e.g. following a sequence of actions like making a cup of tea)
- Problems with short term memory (e.g. remembering what they had for breakfast this morning)
- There may be no problems with their ‘long term memory’ (e.g. remembering where they went to school)
- Personality change e.g. differences in temperament, beliefs or judgement
- Becoming more disinhibited/ less self-control (e.g. saying or doing things that they would not usually do)
- Experiencing unusual mood changes (e.g. crying at a funny moment in a movie)
- Emotional lability (rapid, exaggerated changes in mood) e.g. going from uncontrolled laughter to crying in minutes or seconds
- Poor attention span
- Loss of movement, strength, or control of arms or legs
- Seizure activity involving uncontrolled movements of the arms, legs and/or face
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.
Parietal Lobe
The right and left parietal lobes are located behind the frontal lobe and in front of the occipital lobe. It is the blue coloured area in the diagram. The parietal lobe is important to how we work (our functioning) because it filters and processes information from our senses:
- Somatosensory information = where we are sitting or standing in space and time.
- Vestibular information = our sense of position in space using information from our inner ears
- Tactile information = how something feels to touch
Symptoms experienced by people who have a tumour in the parietal lobe may include:
- Numbness, tingling, burning or difficulty sensing hot and cold to the touch
- Lack of awareness of sensory information coming from the opposite side of the body e.g. only eating half a plate of food, or brushing hair on only one side of their head
- Difficulty with hand-eye co-ordination
- Inability to name parts of body
- Difficulty telling left from right
- Difficulty reading or performing mathematical calculations
- Difficulty understanding what is being said to them
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.
Temporal Lobe
The right and left temporal lobes are positioned along the sides of the brain, behind the ears. It is the yellow coloured area in the diagram. The temporal lobe manages our language centres and is responsible for interpreting what is said and being able to respond appropriately. This function is particularly important in the ‘dominant’ temporal lobe, which is the left side for most right-handed people. The temporal lobes also help in the development of memories.
Tumours affecting the temporal lobe can cause the following problems:
- Understanding words and language (comprehension)
- Communicating
- Writing
- Naming (e.g. inability to name items, such as ‘car’, ‘bridge’, ‘watch’)
- Recognising emotion in others’ faces or voices
- Short term memory and translating information into long term memory
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.
Occipital Lobe
The right and left occipital lobes containour vision centres and are located at the back of the brain. It is the green coloured area in the diagram. The occipital lobes bring together visual information from our eyes and help make it into meaningful information for us.
The type of information processed by the occipital lobe includes:
- Vision – general seeing ability
- Visual and spatial recognition, recognising where things are in time and space
- Discriminating between different colours
- Working out movement
Tumours affecting the occipital lobe can cause the following problems:
- Loss of vision or blind spots affecting parts of vision from both eyes
- Visual hallucinations
- Word blindness (inability to see words)
- Difficulties in reading and writing
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.
The Cerebellum
The cerebellum plays an important part in motor control (movement). It is located underneath the rest of the brain. It is the orange coloured area in the diagram.
The cerebellum does not initiate movement but it contributes to the coordination, precision, and accurate timing of movement. The type of information processed by the cerebellum includes:
- Fine tuning motor activity
- Some brain function related to attention and concentration
Tumours affecting the cerebellum can cause problems relating to:
- Balance e.g. problems walking in a straight line, or changing direction quickly
- Coordination of muscle movements and fine muscle movements
- Coordination of eye movements and double vision
- Attention and concentration problems
- Neck stiffness
- Dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.
The Brainstem
The brainstem connects the spinal cord to the rest of the brain. It is located in front of the cerebellum and below the other lobes. It is the orange coloured area in the diagram.
The brainstem is involved with balance, coordination and reflexes. It contains the nerves that control movements and feeling in the face. It also controls essential functions like breathing, heart rate and temperature regulation, however, these are not commonly altered by tumours in this location.
Tumours affecting the brainstem generally cause problems relating to:
- Balance
- Coordination
- Eye movements (e.g. double vision)
- Facial sensation and movements
- Hearing
- Swallowing
- Articulation (e.g. slurred speaking)
Remember
Not all of these symptoms will be experienced by your friend or relative.