Unit 3: “The Brain Game”

For each scenario, 1. name the structure/chemical involved, 2. AND EXPLAIN WHY
Scenario What area?
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?

“Little Mo” was extremely short for his

age. His doctors concluded the brain
was not stimulating the proper release
of hormones necessary for growth.
What area of the brain are they
probably focusing on?

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)

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 one
foot. He nearly missed his face
altogether when asked to touch his
nose while his eyes were closed. The
impaired functioning of what part of
Justin’s brain is responsible for these
difficulties with motor coordination
and balance?

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?
Paul suffered from 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?
Leon’s car was broadsided by a semi
causing Leon’s head to smash against
the driver’s side window damaging his
temporal lobe cortex. What ability may
be affected?
Jeff suffered serious injuries when his
car crashed but he was still able to
crawl out of the car and pull his sister
out as well. Name ONE of the
transmitters that helped him function
in this situation and tell how.
Wayne has been diagnosed as a
paranoid schizophrenic. What
neurotransmitter change seems to
underlie schizophrenia?
Siggy the Rat had a stimulating
electrode implanted in his brain. Siggy
presses a bar to activate that electrode-
something he would rather do than eat,
sleep or have sex. Sometimes he
presses 7000 times/hr. What is Siggy’s
electrode stimulating?
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 necessary
for school. (In addition he no longer
shows concern for others or for
common social courtesies. He’s rude
and disinhibited.) Where was his
injury?
Jan suffered a concussion in a car
accident. Since that day she has notice
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?

Philip is hooked on cocaine. What

neurotransmitter seems most closely
related to the pleasure such drugs
produce and their addictive qualities?

Grandma Mary had a stroke which

impaired her ability to speak fluently
although she can move all the
necessary muscles. What is the most
likely location of her brain damage (be
specific)?

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?

Sara’s grandfather has developed

Alzheimer’s disease. What can you tell
her about probable changes in his brain
chemistry?

You’re taking a short cut thru a back

yard to get to your car and encounter
two unrestrained Dobermans who
begin pursuit. You run faster than you
have ever run before, and dive into
your car just in the nick of time. It
takes 10 minutes for your pulse and
breathing to slow down to normal.
What part of the nervous system slows
heart rate and breathing down to
normal afterwards?
Amy was having a really bad week. On
Monday her vision got blurrier and
blurrier until she could no longer see at
all. On Tuesday she found she couldn’t
hear. On Wednesday her sense of taste
went. On Thursday she lost her sense
of touch. Her CAT scan revealed a
single brain tumor was probably
producing all of these deficits. What
single part of the brain in involved in
all of these sensory processes?

Pete was struck by lightening when he

insisted on finishing his 18 holes of golf
despite the lightening packed
thunderstorm. He was looking down;
lining up a long putt shot and the bolt
of lightening struck the rear of his
head, frying his occipital lobes. What
aspect of behavior is likely to be
impaired if Pete survives?

Dana is taking Prozac to help control

her depression. Prozac works by
increasing the availability of what
neurotransmitter?

(Make up your own scenario that

involves a chemical/structure that
hasn’t been used yet)
Your grandfather is starting to show
the hand tremors and difficulty moving
that are characteristic of Parkinson’s
Disease, a disorder that is caused by the
degeneration of neuron’s that would
normally
produce _____________.

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).

Your grandmother has begun to lose

her spatial abilities—she gets lost in the
neighborhood where she has spent her
whole life, she can no longer read a
map, she can’t put dishes or clean
laundry away because she no longer
knows where things go in her home of
40 years. What part of the brain
mediates these perceptual/spatial
abilities?
After falling through the 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?

Jeanette suffers from focal epilepsy

(seizures localized in just one part of
the brain). Her seizures are triggering
extreme emotions- most often extreme
fear followed by a rage response. What
part of the brain is being affected?

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?

Julissa Gomez, a young American

gymnast, unsuccessfully attempted a
difficult vaulting move, and struck the
back of her head. Damage to the cord
resulted in paralysis and damage to a
nearby region caused her to lapse into a
coma. Where is the damage that
caused her coma?

NBC reporter John Hockenberry took

the Corningware pan of turkey stuffing
out of the fridge and heated it on the
stove. When the pan and contents were
sizzling hot, the special handle was still
cold. John set the pan on his lap for
several minutes while he stirred and
served the stuffing. He never noticed
the burning hot bottom of the pan
producing serious 3rd degree burns of
his legs. Why?
The Brain Game answers...

1. The medulla—the bottom most part of the brainstem, takes care of life-sustaining
reflexes like breathing and heart rate.
2. “Little Mo”—the hypothalamus and its connection to the pituitary gland-
insufficient growth hormone is being released.
3. The sympathetic division-the sympathetic half of the autonomic nervous system
in our “fight or flight” system arousing the body (HR, BP, breathing) for action
when necessary.
4. Justin—The cerebellum—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.
5. Uncle Ed—the motor cortex—Ed’s stroke must have deprived the blood flow to
the strip of motor cortex in the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere.
6. Mark—the spinal cord—the spinal cord carries messages from the brain to the
body and from the body to the brain.
7. Paul—Hippocampus—part of the limbic system called the hippocampus seems
essential for our ability to store new memories into their permanent, long-term
form.
8. Leon—auditory cortex—the part of the cortex devoted to making sense of what we
hear is in the temporal lobe. The left temporal lobe is particularly important for
comprehending speech—Wernicke” area.
9. Jeff—Endorphin—relieves his pain
NE—Norepinephrine—arouses the body in emergencies
Ach—Acetylcholine—carries messages to the muscles
10. Wayne—excess response to Dopamine-DA
11. Siggy—the pleasure reward system in the limbic system.
12. Brett—Prefrontal cortex (frontal lobe) the front-most portion of the frontal lobe is
involved in planning, judgment, developing strategies, and inhibiting incorrect or
appropriate responses.
13. Jan—the hypothalamus—just above the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus is
critical for basic behaviors/motivations like hunger, thirst, & sex.
14. Philip—Dopamine—seems to be the key transmitter of the pleasure system.
15. Grandma Mary—Broca’s Area—the part of the language system located in the
frontal lobe (left hemisphere) is most important for producing speech.
16. The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus regulates our natural
biorhythms.
17. Michael J. Fox—the substantia nigra of the midbrain.
18. Gwen—Corpus Callosum—the corpus callosum is a large cable of axons
connecting the corresponding parts of the right & left hemisphere.
19. Sara’s grandfather—Ach—Acetylcholine neurons have died off so there is less
stimulation of his cortex.
20.The Parasympathetic nervous system—the parasympathetic half of the autonomic
nervous system takes care of normal body maintenance functions including slow
normal breathing & heart rate.
21. Amy—the Thalamus—just above the hypothalamus is the thalamus, the brain
area the relays all sensory input except smell to the correct regions of the cortex.
It also seems to play an important role in maintaining conscious awareness.
22. Pete—Vision
23. Dana—Serotonin
24. Grandfather—Dopamine
25. Margie—Somatosensory Cortex—the front strip of the right parietal lobe
processes general sensory input from the left side of the body.
26. Grandmother—the right hemisphere—while the left hemisphere has better
developed language areas, the right hemisphere is most important for the
multitude of situations where we use perceptual / spatial information.
27. Little Johnny—the Reticular Formation—the reticular formation is a system of
neurons running through the brainstem that arouses the upper parts of the brain,
regulating our normal waking consciousness.
28.Jeannette—the Limbic System—the limbic system structures, hidden under the
cortex of our right & left hemispheres, is best known for its 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.
29. Martin—Wernicke’s Area—in the left temporal lobe is critical to language
comprehension.
30.Julissa—the reticular formation of the brainstem.
31. John—spinal cord injury