Thursday, April 14, 2016

The Woman with a Hole in Her Brain

Reading this article, I realized how short it was and actually how little information it gave (or just how curious I was). I wanted to find out whether her cerebellum did not grow as she was developing in the womb, or it did but just faded away or something because of how small it is. I don't know, I'm just throwing out ideas because obviously the article didn't really go into detail about it. However, it was interesting to learn what it did to her in her early years, such as the speech impediment and the walking clunkiness and the headaches. It's always fascinating to know miracles like this can happen. She may have some issues, but she's alive isn't she?

The precentral gryus ties directly with the primary motor cortex, and specifically has control over the leg area medially, the head and face laterally, and hand and arm motors. So essentially, if the precentral gyrus was missing or somehow damaged, we would be looking at someone who has facial palsy, or paralysis in the face. Additionally, we'd be finding weakness in the arms and legs, and even hemiparesis, which is weakness in an entire side of the body, left or right. Such weakness could range from stuck in a wheelchair, to possibly assisted walking with some sort of brace. There's definitely still a huge chance of survival, however, as this doesn't exactly affect any cognitive or respiratory or some other lethal mishap. With help from others and a nonthreatening environment, there's a high chance of survival. The postcentral gyrus and central sulcus could potentially be tapped into for support of the motors, but for the kind of strength and endurance of a normal person, you'd really need the precentral gyrus.

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