A viral infection has damaged a patient's tectospinal tract. What signs of this damage probably helped the physicians diagnose the problem?
What will be an ideal response
The tectospinal tract is an extrapyramidal, or indirect, motor pathway. It conveys nerve impulses from the superior colliculus to contralateral skeletal muscles that move the head and eyes in response to visual stimuli. One sign of such damage would be the inability of the patient to turn his head toward a flashing light. The patient would also be unable to follow movements of the physician's finger with his eyes. The patient would probably be unable to read words scrolling across a screen. Each of these deficits relates to the inability to move the head or eyes in response to visual stimuli and would alert the physician to damage of the tectospinal tract.
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