Sarah has suffered some brain damage that has resulted in her movement becoming jerky and less coordinated, and she has some trouble keeping her balance while walking. What area of her brain was most likely to have been damaged?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question describes motor impairment characterized by jerky movements (ataxia) and balance difficulties while walking. This pattern strongly points to dysfunction in an area specifically responsible for coordinating movement and maintaining posture.

- If the cerebellum is damaged, people typically show ataxia: unsteady, uncoordinated movements, intention tremor, and problems with balance and precise timing of movements. These signs align closely with Sarah's symptoms of jerky, less coordinated movement and trouble keeping balance.

- If the motor cortex or other parts of the cerebral cortex were primarily affected, one would expect more pronounced weakness, spasticity, or deficits in planning and initiating voluntary movements, rather than a primary issue with coordination and balance.

- If the basal ganglia were damaged, the presentation would more likely involve alterations in movement initiation and control, such as tremors at rest, bradykinesia, or rigidity, rather than the coordination and balance problems described.

- Brainstem lesions can produce a mix of signs, including gait disturbance, but they often accompany cranial nerve dysfunction or broader motor/sensory deficits, not the classic cerebellar pattern of mis-timed, uncoordinated movements.

Taken together, the combination of jerky, poorly coordinated movements and balance trouble most coherently maps onto cerebellar involvement, given its central role in coordinating movement and maintaining posture.

If other answer choices were present, you’d compare the specific motor signs they predict with Sarah’s presentation: pure weakness or spasticity would argue against cerebellar loss, while resting tremor or rigidity would point toward basal ganglia involvement, and broad brainstem signs would suggest different, more extensive pathology.

PSYC1_SP25_A00 Quiz 1

Sarah has suffered some brain damage that has resulted in her movement becoming jerky and less coordinated, and she has some trouble keeping her balance while walking. What area of her brain was most likely to have been damaged?

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