BRAIN DAMAGE

Damage to the cerebellum through trauma or disease is characterized by certain symptoms involving skeletal muscles on the same side of the body as the damage. The effects are on the same side of the body because of a double crossing of tracts within the cerebellum. There may be a lack of muscle coordination, ataxia. Blindfolded patients with ataxia cannot touch the tip of their nose with a finger because they cannot coordinate movement with their sense of where a body part is located. Another sign of ataxia is a change in the speech pattern due to a lack of coordination of the speech muscles. Brain damage may also result in disturbances of gait, in which the patient staggers or cannot coordinate normal walking movements, and severe dizziness.