This is a thought I've had since I was a kid, and met someone with brain damage for the first time. The question is, if you are in an accident, or have a stroke or anything that could give you brain damage, is your "inner self" still intact? I don't want to start talking about "souls", but is it like you're the same person, but when you try and think of something which requires part of your brain that's been damaged you just can't? Are you still you deep down?

It depends on the definition of "you", but I refer you to the story of Phineas Gage for the classical medical case of brain damage causing a severe change in personality:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage

It also depends on what part of the brain was damaged and in what way(s).

This is a thought I've had since I was a kid, and met someone with brain damage for the first time. The question is, if you are in an accident, or have a stroke or anything that could give you brain damage, is your "inner self" still intact? I don't want to start talking about "souls", but is it like you're the same person, but when you try and think of something which requires part of your brain that's been damaged you just can't? Are you still you deep down?

 

Although you remain you after brain injury, I think you become a lesser you; i.e., a you without access to the information, qualities and abilities that the damage parts of your brain contributed to the you prior to injury. However, through brain plasticity, it is possible that the prior you could emerge from such brain trauma. I hope this helps.

Are you still you deep down?

Not to be picky, but we all think about the real "you" deep down, as if "you" is the center of a Tootsie Roll pop.

 

The fact is, our brains evolved outwards, and "you" are the billions of neurons that form the surface layers called the "cortex". That's why, in an accident (ie, damage from the outside), you can lose parts of "you" without losing, for example, your pulse and respiration — that is, damage from an accident can occur to the outer "bark" of the brain (the Latin word "cortex" means "[tree] bark") without damaging the essential functions that are controlled by the brain stem.

 

On the other hand, strokes generally do not discriminate, so you could lose any combination of functions — "you", vision, balance, motor control, feeling, pulse, respiration, etc.