Reference no: EM133349994

Case Study: Mr. Laxness is a 65-year-old Caucasian gentleman diagnosed with Type II Diabetes when he was 40 years old. Over his lifetime, Mr. Laxness has enjoyed a diet high in sweets and red meat; only occasionally has he consumed green vegetables, especially since his partner left him ten years ago. He takes medication to control his blood sugar, but due to variability in his dietary patterns, he has been unable to maintain a steady blood sugar level. Mr. Laxness worked for 30 years as a police officer and retired three years ago. During the past five years, Mr. Laxness has had increasing trouble with his memory, forgetting the names of people with whom he worked and retrieving names of everyday objects. Within the past two years, he reported difficulty at times being able to understand spoken language and also has experienced problems with his expressive language; he uses words in the wrong context (paraphasias). His physician recently referred Mr. Laxness to a neuropsychologist for evaluation; results revealed mild-moderate dementia. He lives alone, and his adopted children are not in the immediate area. As part of his neurological exam, the physician discovered problems with Mr. Laxness's ability to discriminate and identify smells. Mr. Laxness has no history of head trauma or other neurological conditions, and he has never smoked.

Questions:

a) Identify any 2 hormones that are actively involved in Mr. Laxness's symptom Briefly describe the functions of those 2 hormones.

b) Based on brain-behavior relationships, briefly explain why problems with memory and the ability to smell may be related.

c) Identify the primary brain region associated with the expression of language in most individuals. Based on suspected changes in this brain lobe, identify 1 other change that you might expect in Mr. Laxness's cognitive and/or emotional presentation and explain your rationale.