Brain Diseases

On this page

Summary

Your brain is the control center of your body. It controls your thoughts, memory, speech, and movement. It regulates the function of many organs. It's part of your nervous system, which also includes your spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The nervous system sends signals between your brain and the rest of the body. Your nerves take in information from your senses and send it to the brain to be processed. Your brain and nerves also communicate to help you move and to control your body's functions.

When the brain is healthy, it works quickly and automatically. But when you have a brain disease, it may affect how well you can function and do your daily activities. Some common brain diseases include:

Brain tumors, which can press on nerves and affect brain function.
Degenerative nerve diseases, which can affect many of your body's activities, such as balance, movement, talking, breathing, and heart function. Types include Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Encephalitis (inflammation in the brain), which can lead to problems such as vision loss, weakness, and paralysis.
Genetic brain disorders, which are caused by changes in genes (also called variants or mutations). These disorders can affect the development and function of the brain.
Strokes, which can cause a loss of brain cells and can affect your ability to think clearly.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which can affect brain function. They may range from mild to severe. The effects of a TBI may be temporary or permanent.

The symptoms of brain diseases vary widely, depending on the specific problem. In some cases, damage is permanent. In other cases, treatments such as surgery, medicines, or therapies such as physical, occupational, and speech therapies, may cure the disease or improve the symptoms.

Start Here

Brain Basics: Know Your Brain (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

Diagnosis and Tests

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Analysis (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Computed Tomography (CT) -- Head (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) -- Head (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Magnetic Resonance, Functional (fMRI) -- Brain (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
Neurological Exam (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

About Neurointerventions (Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery)
Intracranial Hypertension: Medication and Surgery (Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation)

Specifics

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) Also in Spanish
Brain Lesions (Cleveland Clinic Foundation)
Central Pontine Myelinolysis (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Cerebral Atrophy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Encephalopathy (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Hepatic Encephalopathy (American Liver Foundation)
Klüver-Bucy Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Neuronal Migration Disorders (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Periventricular Leukomalacia (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Porencephaly (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Pseudotumor Cerebri (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
Pseudotumor Cerebri (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)
What Is IH (Intracranial Hypertension)? (Intracranial Hypertension Research Foundation)

Genetics

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy type 1: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
COL4A1-related brain small-vessel disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Familial porencephaly: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Hereditary cerebral amyloid angiopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Primary familial brain calcification: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Images

Craniotomy - slideshow (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Videos and Tutorials

Athetosis resulting from basal ganglia injury (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Brain components (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Brain Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Reference Desk

Brain Facts: Glossary (Society for Neuroscience)
Central Nervous System: The Brain and Spinal Cord (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
Your Brain and Nervous System (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

Basal ganglia dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Brain abscess (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Brain surgery (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Central pontine myelinolysis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) collection (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
EEG (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Hepatic encephalopathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Pseudotumor cerebri (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish