A patient has damage to one part of the forebrain…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A patient has damage to one part of the forebrain. Name the part that is most likely damaged, and say why.
- The person cannot control body temperature, and has lost the urge to drink.
- The two cerebral hemispheres cannot pass information to each other.
- The person sees and hears normally, but cannot join the information into a memory or find the words to speak.
- The person has lost the usual emotional reactions such as fear and rage, and has lost the motivation to act.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
The brain is protected by the skull and the cranial meninges: the dura mater (outer), the arachnoid (thin, middle) and the pia mater (inner, on the brain tissue). The forebrain has the cerebrum (two hemispheres joined by the corpus callosum), the thalamus and the hypothalamus. The cortex is the grey matter, with motor, sensory and association areas. The limbic system has the amygdala and the hippocampus.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. (a) The hypothalamus, which has the centres for body temperature and for eating and drinking.
Step 2. (b) The corpus callosum, the tract of fibres that joins the two hemispheres.
Step 3. (c) The association areas of the cerebral cortex. The senses work, but the complex jobs of memory and communication are lost.
Step 4. (d) The limbic system, with the amygdala and the hippocampus, which with the hypothalamus controls emotional reactions and motivation.
Answer: (a) hypothalamus; (b) corpus callosum; (c) association areas of the cortex; (d) limbic system.
Watch out. In (c) the sensory areas are not damaged. If they were, the person could not see or hear.
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