brain+game

= The Brain Game = = = == n ** Uncle Ed suffered a stroke which damaged a portion of his **** cortex ****. He shows some weakness and partial paralysis of his right leg. What area of his cortex was affected by the stroke??? ( be specific) **== = The PrecentralGyrus or Motor Cortex of the Frontal Lobe =

** Ed’s stroke must have deprived the blood flow to the strip of motor cortex in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. **
= Case 16 = == n ** Pete was strike by lightening when he insisted on finishing his 18 holes of golf despite the lightening packed thunderstorm that had moved in. He was looking down, lining up a long putt shot and the lightening struck the rear pole of his head, frying his occipital lobes. What aspect of behavior is likely to be impaired if Pete survives? **== = Vision =

= = == n ** Walking down a dark New York street late at night you suddenly feel the metal barrel of a pistol press against your head behind your ear and hear the instructions "Don't move a muscle while I slip your wallet out of your pocket". Unfortunately you do move, the gun is fired and the bullet enters the brain. Breathing and heart beat stop almost immediately. Where is the bullet? **== = The Medulla =

n ** The medulla, the bottom most part of the brainstem, takes care of life-sustaining reflexes like breathing and heart rate. **
= = == n ** “Little Mo” was extremely short for his age. His doctors concluded the brain was not stimulating the proper release of pituitary hormones necessary for growth. What area of brain was not doing its job? **== = The Hypothalamus. =

n ** Insufficient growth hormone is being released. **
= = == n ** All his life Ron had been a good sleeper. He often napped in the library and, yes, even in class. Playing football this fall however he received a exceptionally hard blow to the back of his head and neck. Now he suffers insomnia regularly - even sleeping pills don't seem to work. What part of the brain related to sleep may have been damaged? **== = The Pons =

n ** The pons (between medulla & midbrain of brainstem) contains key sleep areas of the brain. **
= = == n ** On Justin's 21st birthday he & his buddies celebrated a bit too much. When the police stopped his car Justin's speech was slurred, he couldn't walk a straight line or balance on 1 foot. He had lost his ability to precisely control movement (he nearly missed his face altogether when asked to touch his nose with eyes closed). The impaired functioning of what part of Justin's brain is responsible for these difficulties with motor coordination & balance? **==

= The Cerebellum = == n ** The cerebellum functions like a motor computer taking care of the underlying details of our movements (coordination, timing, targeting, balance ). Oddly enough it is often malformed in autism as well. **== = = == n ** Brett was a superior student and had a full scholarship, but following a head injury he can no longer plan, organize or follow through with tasks. His working memory is impaired and he no longer seems to anticipate the consequences of his actions. Where was his injury? **== = Prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe) =

n ** The front-most portion of the frontal lobe is involved in planning, judgement, developing strategies, and inhibiting incorrect or inappropriate responses. **
= = == n ** Leon **** ’s car was broadsided by a semi causing Leon’s head to smash against the driver’s side window. Although his ear was undamaged, a bruising of his cortex impaired his hearing. What region was damaged? **== = Temporal Lobe Auditory Cortex =

n ** The part of the cortex devoted to making sense of was we hear is in the temporal lobe. The left temporal lobe is particularly important for comprehending speech **
= = == n ** Margie suffered damage to part of the surface of her brain after being struck by a golf club let loose by an irate golfer that had just sliced a key drive. As a result Margie has loss some sensory awareness of her left leg. Where is Margie's brain damage (be specific)? **== = Somatosensory Cortex or PostcentralGyrus =

n ** The front strip of the right parietal lobe processes general sensory input from the left side of the body. **
= =

n ** Gwen's brain has a congenital anomaly (a difference in brain anatomy that she was born with) - it lacks the main connection between the right and left hemispheres. What was Gwen born without? **
= Corpus Callosum =

n ** The corpus callosum is a large cable of axons connecting the corresponding parts of the right & left hemisphere. **
= =

n ** After Martin’s cerebrovascular accident he had difficulty understanding what others were saying to him. He could speak but what he said made little sense. Where is Martin’s brain damage? **
= Wernicke’s area in the left temporal lobe is critical to language comprehension. = = = == n ** Stephanie has a brain tumor. The primary changes in her behavior are a decrease in her primitive auditory reflexes (she doesn’t react when a car's horn startles her) and a decrease in her primitive visual reflexes (her eyes move more slowly to new visual stimuli). Where is her tumor probably located? **==

= The Superior and Inferior Colliculi of the Midbrain =

= (aka “ tectum ”) =

n ** The midbrain contains reflex centers that automatically direct eye movements and as well as trigger orientation towards an auditory stimulus. **
= = == n ** Paul suffered a of encephalitis ( a brain infection) while in college. He received good medical attention but still the infection took its toll on certain parts of his brain, so that now Paul cannot store new long-term memories. What part of the brain did the encephalitis damage? **== = Hippocampus =

n ** Part of the limbic system called the hippocampus seems essential for our ability to store new memories into their permanent, long-term form. **
= = == n ** Tom was moving furniture when he felt something go in his lower back. Suddenly his right leg seemed much weaker and he was unable to climb the stairs. His doctor said he had a herniated spinal disk that was pressing on the part of a spinal nerve root carrying efferent messages out to the muscles of his leg. This particular root of a spinal nerve would be called **== = A Ventral Root =

n ** Motor commands leaving the cord to go to body muscles exit the cord via the ventral roots. **
= = == n ** Mr. P. suffered a sudden loss of taste sensation on the left side of his tongue and tactile (touch) sensitivity on the left side of his body. His diagnosis was “pure sensory stroke”. His MRI scans revealed no damage to his cortex. What is the likely location of his stroke? **== = The Thalamus =

n ** The thalamus relays all sensory input except smell to the appropriate regions of cortex. **
= =

n ** You’re in the Dome parking lot at 2 AM when a guy in a hockey mask holding a long-bladed knife jumps out at you. What system of nerves would arouse your body to action? ( be specific) **
= The Sympathetic Division =

n ** The sympathetic half of the autonomic nervous system in our “fight or flight” system, arousing the body for action when necessary .. **
= = == n ** Jan suffered a concussion in a car accident. Since that day she has noticed a dramatic decrease in her sexual libido, a lack of appetite and an absence of thirst. She never thinks of having a drink until her lips actually dry and crack. What part of her brain might have been affected by the car accident? **== = The Hypothalamus =

n ** The hypothalamus is critical for basic behaviors/motivations like hunger, thirst, & sex. **
= = == n ** Sat. night Mark decided to dive from his 2nd floor balcony into the pool below. Everyone said he was too drunk & the pool was too shallow but he couldn’t be stopped. He dove, struck his head on the bottom & broke his neck. Thru the quick action of others he was rescued & survived but is paralyzed & without sensation from his shoulders down. What was damaged? **== = The Spinal Cord =

n ** The spinal cord carries messages from the brain to the body and from the body to the brain. **
= = == n ** Folksinger Woodie Guthrie suffered from a genetic disorder which caused deterioration of large portions of the basal ganglia. What aspect of his behavior is likely to have been impaired by this damage? **== = Movement =

n ** The basal ganglia are part of the “ extrapyramidal motor system” and, with other brain areas, help to control movements. **
= = == n ** After falling through ice on a local pond little Johnny was trapped under the icy water for 10 minutes before the rescuers got him out. They were able to resuscitate his pulse and breathing but he did not regain consciousness for days. Disturbance of what specific part of Johnny's brain might have resulted in an inability of the brain to regulate normal alertness??? **== = The reticular formation (or “ascending reticular activating system”) of the brainstem = = = == n ** You're taking a short cut thru a back yard to get to your car & encounter 2 unrestrained Dobermans who begin pursuit. You run faster than you have ever run before, & dive into your car just in the nick of time. It takes 10 minutes for your pulse & breathing to slow down to normal. What part of the nervous system slows heart rate and breathing down to normal afterwards? **== = The Parasympathetic Division =

= = == n ** Jeanette suffers from focal epilepsy (seizures localized in just 1 part of brain). Her seizures are trigger extreme emotions - most often extreme fear followed by a rage response. What part of the brain is being affected? **== = The Limbic System = == n ** The limbic system structures, hidden under the cortex of our right and left hemispheres, is best known for it control of emotion. Parts of it also play a role in memory. One part of the limbic system - the amygdala - seems particularly important for emotional reactions & memories. **== = = == n ** Jesse has a high fever, stiff neck, and a headache so bad it makes him sick to his stomach. Bright light only makes him feel worse. His doctor said he has an infection of the protective coverings of the brain known as the _ __________. **== = Meninges =

n ** Jesse has meningitis. **
= =

n ** Marsha’s CAT scan revealed larger than normal ventricles. Large ventricles can be associated with a disorder known as____________. **
= Hydrocephalus (build up of cerebrospinal fluid) = = = == n ** Leonard suffers intractable pain from nerve damage due to his diabetes. After trying every medication and physical treatment available for pain relief, he finally decides to have surgery in the nerve rootlets that carry sensory input into his spinal cord. Incoming (afferent) sensory messages enter the cord via the ________. **==

= Dorsal roots = = =

n ** Michael J. Fox has Parksinson’s disease, a motor disorder related to the loss of Dopamine producing cells located in the ____________. **
= Substantia Nigra of the Midbrain = = = == n ** Your grandmother is beginning to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease. Her doctor explains that a group of neurons which usually send activating acetylcholine messages to all of the cortex is dying off. The area that is deteriorating is known as: **== = Nucleus basalis of the basal forebrain =

== n ** Greg and Barbara’s happy anticipation of the birth of their first child turned to stunned sorrow when the neonatal pediatrician told them their baby had been born with a condition called anencephaly. What is anencephaly? **== = Anencephaly =