Final Project: Neurobiology of everyday life.

1. Understanding the brain:
the neurobiology of
everyday life
By Peggy Mason
The University of Chicago

2. Final Project
• Find an example of everyday neurobiology
Using what you have learned in this course:
• identify the parts of the nervous system that are active in your
example,
• describe the functions of the nervous system that are
apparent and/or impaired in your example, and
• explain in detail the ways in which this course has allowed you
to better analyze the events and phenomena around you.

3. My choice:
eBook: Scooter Sagas: Coping with Ataxia
Author: Tammy Lanning Schuman

4. Author and protagonist of this book, Tammy Schuman led an active
life as a nurse.
In 1996 she was diagnosed with SCA – Type 6 and her life had a big
change as it is a progressive neurological movement disorder.
Everything she had built her life on shifted.
In her book, Schuman narrates her experiences by sharing her snarky
emails, private journaling, website chatting, and public blogging.
She describes the reality of living with ataxia and the ways in which it
affects every aspect of her life.
She also describes her motorized scooting experiences with Skeeter,
the inanimate best friend who gives her the freedom to get outside
and be less dependent on others.
With humor this book provides the day by day battles Schuman had
to deal with considering a movement disorder and her fight to
maintain her independence and dignity.

5. Spinocerebellar Ataxia
• Refers to a loss of coordination not due to muscle weakness which
may affect speech, eye movements, the ability to swallow, walking,
picking up objects and other voluntary movements. (The author
describes it as a feeling of walking on tennis balls)
• One can have Ataxia or Ataxic symptoms for many reasons. In her
case, she developed this disorder due to a gene passed from the
maternal side of the family.
• There are other many movement disorders: Hutington’s,
Parkinson’s.

6. Spinocerebellar Ataxia
This is ataxia caused by a dysfunction of the cerebellum - a region in the brain which is
involved in the assimilation of sensory perception, coordination and motor control.
Cerebellar ataxia causes some basic neurological problems, such as:
• Floppiness (hypotonia).
• Lack of co-ordination between organs, muscles, limbs or joints (asynergy).
• Impaired ability to control distance, power, and speed of an arm, hand, leg or eye
movement (dysmetria).
• Difficulty in accurately estimating how much time has passed (dyschronometria).
• An inability to perform rapid, alternating movements (dysdiadochokinesia).
• How the patient is affected depends on which parts of the cerebellar are lesioned, and
whether lesions occur on one side (unilateral) or both sides (bilateral).
If the vestibulocerebellum is affected the patient's balance and eye movement control
will be affected. The patient will typically stand with feet wide apart in order to gain
better balance and avoid swaying backwards and forwards (posterior-anterior
oscillations). Even when the patient's eyes are open balance is difficult when the feet
are together.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162368.php

7. • There’s a difficulty to distribute weight evenly, to stand up straight
and lighten up on the hands.
• A person’s Ataxic gait and slurred speech can be misunderstood as a
person suspected to be drunk. In this case, an ataxic person would
fail on tests like walking a straight line, wlaking heel and toe,
stretching arms out to side and bringing index finger to nose and
standing on one leg.
• “Neither terminal nor painful”.

8. • Represents “a loss of what you once were”. So self-esteem must be
taken care of.
• Simple tasks as opening the door may seem easy, but not for a
person who suffers from Ataxia.
• Ataxia does not cause dementia as some people may interpretate.
It means that the neocortex is functioning on his best and the
person is able to judge and take decisions.

9. “We all pass on characteristics to future generations through our
genes. But most of the time, it is blue eyes, a certain body type,
or a predisposition for heart disease, etc. This felt more like a life
sentence from a lottery”.
Thammy words about the 50-50 chance of her descendants
carrying the gene.

10. About the course
In this course I could reassure that the CNS is the big boss in our
body, controlling and making sure that all functions are working
well as a beautiful and harmonic orchestra.
If one part of it is not doing well, the others will make their best
to regain its homeostasis.
Another point is that we must be attentive to our body signs as it
represents a lot of possibilities of our “body talking ”.

11. About the course
Understanding the brain and the body demands a lot of studying.
For a person that is not native on english language, Professor
Peggy Mason speaks very clear. It is easy to realize she loves what
she does.

12. Student:
Vanessa Goulart Sant’Ana Scarausi