Lee Has Recently Had a Brain Injury in Which There

question 44

Essay

Lee has recently had a brain injury in which there was substantial damage to the hippocampus. During recovery, Lee finds that he is able to remember directions to the grocery store and the steps needed to shop (e.g. get a shopping basket, shop, pay for groceries and carry them out). However, Lee has extreme difficulty remembering the list of groceries that he established that he needed while he was at home. Furthermore, when he gets home, he finds that he is able to do simple tasks such as putting ice in his drink, but he becomes frustrated when he tries to remember all of the steps needed to use his espresso machine to make a drink. Given what we know about the hippocampus, explain why Lee exhibits the difficulties mentioned in the story.

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Definitions:

Producer Trophic Level

The first level in a food web, comprised of organisms that produce organic materials (usually through photosynthesis) from inorganic substances.

Base

A substance that can accept hydrogen ions (protons) or more generally, donate a pair of valence electrons; in nucleic acids, a nitrogen-containing molecule that forms part of the genetic code.

Denitrifying Bacteria

Bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle, converting nitrates in soil into nitrogen gas, thereby reducing nitrogen availability to plants.

Nitrate

A polyatomic ion with the chemical formula NO3− or a compound containing this ion; important in the nitrogen cycle and used in fertilizers.