How can a stroke affect emotions?
Some areas of the brain produce emotions, just as other parts produce movement or allow us to see, hear, smell or taste. If these areas are injured by a stroke, a survivor may cry easily or have sudden mood swings, often for no apparent reason. This is called emotional lability. Laughing uncontrollably also may occur but isn’t as common as crying. Depression is common as stroke survivors recover and as they come to terms with any stroke-related impairment that doesn’t fully go away. How can a stroke cause loss of awareness? Stroke often causes people to lose mobility and/or feeling in an arm and/or leg. If this affects the left side of the body (caused by a stroke on the right side of the brain), stroke survivors may also forget or ignore their weaker side. This problem is called neglect or inattention. As a result, they may ignore items on their affected side and not think that their left arm or leg belongs to them. They also may dress only one side of their bodies and think they’re f
