EXERCISE TO HELP YOU MASTER THE MATERIAL ON NEUROANATOMY:

Identify the brain or nervous system structure involved in each of the five (5) scenarios presented below.

1.  ______________________________  It was very dark as Carol walked home from the college library. She was thinking about tomorrow's test when she heard heavy breathing and then felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned and stared into the terrifying eyes of a huge man holding a chain saw. Without thinking, she swung her book bag with all her might, hit the enormous man in his stomach, knocked out his breath, and saw him double over. Carol ran home faster than she had ever run before. Her roomate couldn't believe that 5' 1", 98 lb Carol had the strength to knock out the man's breath and speed on home. It was not until several hours later that Carol had calmed down enough to go to sleep. Which part of Carol's nervous system gave her the strength to knock out the man's breath and run home faster than the wind?

2.  ______________________________  There is a tiny bug that lives under beds and comes out at night when a person is sound asleep. The bug crawls into the person's ear and keeps on going until it reaches the brain. Very quietly so as not to wake the person, the bug begins to eat away its favorite part of the person's brain. The next morning, as the person gets up, he/she walks to the bathroom in a very clumsy way. The person has no trouble holding the toothbrush but has great difficulty making smooth, circular brushing strokes. At lunch time, the person has no trouble holding a quarter but has great difficulty making the fine movements needed to put the quarter into the slot of the vending machine. Throughout the day, the person has no trouble starting movements but has difficulty making smooth movements and walks as if drunk. Which part of the person's brain did the tiny bug eat away?

3.  ______________________________  Bruno, who is in a coma, is kept alive by a life support system that includes a respirator to control his breathing and another machine to supply foods and fluids. Bruno's brain wave pattern is flat, which means that he is brain dead or that his forebrain is not functioning. The doctors tell Bruno's mother that Bruno is in a vegetative coma (he cannot speak, think, or respond to questions) from which he is unlikely ever to come out. On the advice of the doctors, Bruno's mother decides that it would be best if the respirator were disconnected and Bruno be allowed to die without pain. The doctors disconnect Bruno's respirator and after several minutes, Bruno gasped for air and began to breathe on his own. The doctor's explain that in a few cases such as Bruno's, when the respirator is turned off, a small part of the brain can keep a person alive but the rest of the brain is dead. Which part of Bruno's brain is keeping him alive?

4.  ______________________________  Some very weird things have been happening to Michelle this week that have caused her to be concerned. On Monday, she was sitting in her art class watching a video when she suddenly could not see and discovered that she was completely blind. On Tuesday, she was practicing the violin when she realized that she couldn't hear anything and was totally deaf. On Wednesday, now blind and deaf, she was in the cafeteria eating a pizza when she realized that she could not taste anything and had lost all sense of taste. On Thursday she pinched herself to make sure that she was all right but discovered that she couldn't feel a thing. In just four days, she had lost her ability to see, hear, taste and touch. What part of Michelle's brain was being destroyed by a tumor?

5.  ______________________________  Patti's goal was to be a terrific figure skater and compete in the next Winter Olympics. During one of her practice sessions, she was doing a spectacular double whirl, spin, and leap when she caught an edge. She happened to fall down in the path of an oncoming speed skater, who was going too fast to avoid her. The speed skater's skate passed over one side of Patti's head. The sharp blade cut through Patti's skull and damaged one side of her brain. When Patti tried to get up and walk, she discovered that the right side of her body moved normally but that her left leg and left arm were paralyzed. But when someone grabbed her left arm and leg to help her up, she realized that she had no problem feeling hands touching her left leg and left arm. Which area in which hemisphere of Patti's brain was damaged?