Answers for Cortex Review questions

1. Shaded region: Damage to RIGHT hemisphere in regions served by the RIGHT middle cerebral artery. We assume the person is left-side dominant for language (as are most people), so language would not be seriously imapired - this is NOT global aphasia! Prosody, however, is likely to be impaired, there is likely to be motor and sensory impairments of the left side of the body, articulation problems (due to motor involvement of the left side of the (tongue, oral cavity, & face), impaired ability to localize sounds, and possibly low affect if the damage extends into prefrontal regions. Review the page on cerebral blood flow and border zones for details.

2. This diagram should help you to pull together the various parts of the course content. Be sure to include the thalamus, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and motor planning regions. review the diagrams from each unit of the course for details, and try to construct your own pathways using other sensory inputs & output behaviors.

3. Calming activities: soothing voice, snuggling, rocking, 'quiet time', drawing, reading (NOT dancing, running, jumping, playground, etc.!). These represent therapeutic use of sensory inputs to modify ongoing behaviors.

4. Structures & relations: You should be able to answer the 'where' & 'what' parts of the table (if not, look it up!). The A - D answers appear below:
   1. C
   2. D
   3. B
   4. A
   5. C
   6. C
   7. C
   8. D
   9. A
   10. B
   11. A
   12. D
   13. A
   14. D
   15. B
   16. B

5. Ms. Mendez: Left middle cerbral artery stroke, probably near to Broca's area (expressive aphasia; she can use short words but not sentences) and that nearby portion of the motor cortex controlling muscles of articulation (dysarthria; altered muscle tone/control = 'swollen' & difficult to control tongue, not damage to hypoglossal nerve). Receptive language (Wernicke's area) is OK, recognition and production of emotional content OK (prosody; right hemisphere); pain may be due to thalamic involvement (thalamus as end zone of MCA), and although easily frustrated & tearful, this may be a normal response to her circumstance rather than a consequence of prefrontal damage. Cautions: Transient bouts of unconscious may signal transient ischemic attacks, and was a warning sign of the potential for more serious strokes; healthcare professionals & family members should be aware of the warnings signs of a new stroke & the need to get to an emergency room as soon as possible, as well as the potential for continued emboli.