The Woman With a Hole in Her Brain

     The article describes a woman who has lived 24 years of her life without a large part of her brain: the cerebellum. Although she had some delays in walking and speech, her overall health was not compensated for and she lived normally for the most part. The cerebellum controls the motor function in your body, therefore, the effects on her body only resulted in those areas. Surprising doctors, this case, like a few others show the significance in the various parts of the brain controlling different aspects of function. This is evident that each part of the brain has it's own contribution to the body's function, and just because you miss one part, doesn't mean your other parts cannot compensate and remain healthy in their function. The brain is not just one central powerhouse for your body, but it is a puzzle of various parts that all control different aspects for your body and functions.

Unlike the women living without a cerebellum, we would be unable to live with our medulla oblongata, an essential part to our brains. The medulla oblongata is located in our brainstem-- in front of the cerebellum. It is considered to be one of the most crucial parts of the brain because it controls functions that are involuntary: breathing, swallowing, circulation of blood, and receiving sensory/motor neurons. Our body would be unable to perform its necessary functions without it, making it a staple to our survival. The medulla oblongata receives neurons through the spinal cord and translates it for the thalamus to process and take action. It controls the major systems in our body: circulation, digestion, and respiration. It would be highly difficult for a person to survive without their medulla olongata because we would be unable to detect certain neurons that control those involuntary functions-- making it very difficult for other parts of the brain to replicate its role.