You are an ER nurse and this evening a young woman, Tanya, was rushed into the emergency room after suffering a seizure. Tanya is a 29-year-old whose husband confirms that she has never experienced a seizure prior to this. The emergency medical technician (EMT) who picked up the Tanya from her home upon her husband calling 991 informs you that he gave Tanya a dose of lorazepam, a benzodiazepine, to prevent another seizure from occurring while driving her to the hospital.
Benzodiazepines are a class of medication that serves as a GABA receptor agonist. More specifically, this medication achieves its effects by increasing the probability that GABA binding to the receptor will open the associated Cl− channel. GABA receptors are present throughout the cortex and limbic system in the brain, and act to inhibit neuronal activity. Apart from reducing the instance of seizures, which involve a burst of uncontrolled electrical activity between neurons, benzodiazepines are also taken in cases of anxiety and muscle spasms as they give rise to a calming effect.
While you are taking Tanya vitals you notice as she is talking to you, she is slurring her speech and her husband takes you aside to say that for the past couple of days, she has displayed some risk-taking behaviors which is very abnormal for her. The neurologist on call immediately orders an MRI which shows a small tumor in the right hemisphere of Tanya’s cerebrum which likely caused the seizure and her current symptoms.
Which of the following is a plausible explanation of the above scenario?
Of the following options, choose the one that would help to properly match the above scenario. Reject all the rest. For full points you must also provide an explanation for each case. Defend the correct choice with adequate justification. For those that are false, explain why they are incorrect.
Accept/Reject: By acting on Cl- ligand gated ion channels the medication produces excitatory post synaptic potentials making neurons within the CNS less negative, helping to prevent more seizures from occurring.
.
Accept/Reject: The medication ultimately stimulates more Cl- gated ion channels to open along the axon of neurons.
Accept/Reject: The tumor is likely in Tanya’s parietal lobe as that is where language production is housed.
Accept/Reject: It exerts an inhibitory effect by way of preventing glial cells from firing action potentials.
Accept/Reject: Given Tanya’s symptoms, you wouldn’t be surprised if she also exhibits difficulties with voluntary movement to left side of her body.