NH Art HEALTH 101 – Neuroscience Case Study

NH Art HEALTH 101 – Neuroscience Case Study

NH Art HEALTH 101 – Neuroscience Case Study
Subject: General Questions    / General General Questions
Question
Neuroscience Case Study
The Case of…Tim Levesque, the Fallen Athlete
Since he was a boy, Tim Levesque has always loved sports. From football and basketball
in high school through rugby in college, Tim enjoyed the hours of training, the satisfaction of
mastering complex plays, and especially the thrill of facing challenging competitors. He remained physically active in the years that followed and spent many evenings and weekends
coaching his son Adam’s Little League baseball team. He continued to challenge himself to
learn new skills, as when he took up bowling and practiced regularly until he was good
enough to join a league.
Six months ago, at the age of 46, Tim suffered a stroke while he was taking his morning
jog. Immediately afterward, much of the right side of Tim’s body was paralyzed and he was
having great difficulty trying to talk. When Adam saw him in the hospital, he barely recognized his strong, active father now lying weak and incapacitated in a hospital bed. Although
his physicians could not give him a clear prognosis, Tim was determined to regain his
strength and mobility and fully resume his active lifestyle.
Today Tim has not quite reached his goal, but he has made a remarkable recovery. He is
out of the hospital and receiving regular physical therapy. His speech has returned with only
occasional difficulty, and he is able to walk and move well enough to return to work. He
can’t quite manage to roll a 12-pound bowling ball with the ease and accuracy as he previously could, but that doesn’t bother him much. What really excites Tim is the ever increasing
likelihood that he’ll be back to coach Adam’s team next season. Reminder: Answer all parts of each question.
1. Based on the evidence presented in the passage, which hemisphere of Tim’s brain likely
suffered damage during his stroke? Be sure to describe all the evidence that led you to
your answer.

2. (a) What imaging technology would best reveal the location and extent of damage to
Tim’s brain produced by his stroke, and (b) why is this the best choice, compared to
other possible imaging methods? Make sure to describe the other methods to choose
from in justifying why the imaging technology you picked would be the best.

3. (a) If physicians did not have any means of viewing the damage to Tim’s brain directly,
what other clues might they have to the location of the damage?
(b) Where might the damage be if Tim had lost his vision after the stroke?
(c) Where might it be if he lost sensation on the left side of his body?
(d) Where might it be if his personality suddenly changed?

4. Before the stroke, Tim was an active sportsman.
(a) Explain what role the endocrine
system played in keeping Tim’s body performing optimally in times of strenuous exercise and in times of relaxation
(b) How might Tim have been able to manipulate his endocrine system function to enhance his athletic performance, if he so chose? (c) What
might be some risks of doing so (list and explain at least 4 associated risks)?

5. (a) Name and describe the two brain phenomena that are chiefly responsible for Tim’s
recovery of lost speech and motor functions.
(b) Taking into account all relevant information, how likely do you think Tim is to completely return to his pre-stroke level of
functioning, and (c) why?