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The Brain Game Directions: Read the following scenarios and explain the area of the brain, the neurotransmitter,
or the branch of the nervous system that is affected.
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(s) of the brain are they
probably focusing on?
You’re in the Spectrum 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 Ted 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)
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 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?
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)?
Some individuals who are blind have biorhythms and sleep/waking cycles that are very different
than normal. The area of the brain responsible for these cycles malfunctions without normal
visual input. What region is this?
Michael J. Fox has Parkinson’s disease, a motor disorder related to the death of cells in a part
of the brain called the _______.
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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
lightning 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?
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 lost 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 3 rd degree burns
of his legs. Why?
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The medulla—the bottom most part of the brainstem, takes care of life-sustaining reflexes like breathing and heart
rate.
“Little Mo”—the hypothalamus and its connection to the pituitary gland-insufficient growth hormone is being released.
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.
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.
Uncle Ted—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.
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.
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.
Jeff—Endorphin—relieves his pain
NE—Norepinephrine—arouses the body in emergencies
Ach—Acetylcholine—carries messages to the muscles
Wayne—excess response to Dopamine-DA
Siggy—the pleasure reward system in the limbic system--hypothalamus.
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.
Jan—the hypothalamus—just above the pituitary gland, the hypothalamus is critical for basic behaviors/motivations
like hunger, thirst, & sex.
Philip—Dopamine—seems to be the key transmitter of the pleasure system.
Grandma Mary—Broca’s Area—the part of the language system located in the frontal lobe (left hemisphere) is most
important for producing speech.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus regulates our natural biorhythms. Input from the occipital lobe also
helps to regulate those biorhythms.
Michael J. Fox—the substantia nigra of the midbrain. (SKIP—didn’t discuss midbrain)
Gwen—Corpus Callosum—the corpus callosum is a large cable of axons connecting the corresponding parts of the right
& left hemisphere.
Sara’s grandfather—Ach—Acetylcholine neurons have died off so there is less stimulation of his cortex.
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.
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.
Pete—Vision
Dana—Serotonin
Grandfather—Dopamine
Margie—Somatosensory Cortex—the front strip of the right parietal lobe processes general sensory input from the
left side of the body.
Grandmother—the parietal lobe—responsible for spatial reasoning/navigation required for all those tasks.
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.
Jeannette—the Limbic System—One part of the limbic system-the Amygdala-seems particularly important for
emotional reactions & memories.
Martin—Wernicke’s Area—in the left temporal lobe is critical to language comprehension.
Julissa—the reticular formation of the brainstem.
John—spinal cord injury; IF it was a brain structure, it would most likely be the somatosensory cortex in the parietal
lobe, where the sense of touch is processed.
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