The Awakenings

Term Paper Title	The Awakenings
# of Words	561
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	2.24

The Awakenings

Block 3

Movie Assignment: The Awakenings

4/19/2004

How does encephalitis affect the brain? What does this mean for a person�s behavior?

I am not sure how it affects the brain directly because in the movie the people were alive inside it was just they had an extreme muscular weakness so some of them were not able to move. Patients with encephalitis (not encephalitis lethargica) suffer from fever, headache, vomiting, confusion, drowsiness and photophobia. The symptoms of encephalitis are caused by brain's defense mechanisms being activated to get rid of infection (brain swelling, small bleedings and cell death). Neurologic examination usually reveals a stiff neck due to the irritation of the meninges covering the brain. There behavior would be plain and they would show no emotions or facial expressions at all. It would be like a constant blank stare for ever. The behavior changed only when they were given the drug and then they went back to normal but only for a month or 2 but then they slowly progressed back into their original state of frozen people.

When then people regressed into their �condition,� did they feel all the pain was worth the short-lived improvement? What did the doctors feel about the costs and benefits?

Yes they did think that it was worth it because they were able to enjoy life again even though it was only temporary. They were able to go dancing, to the museum, movies, and eat out. The people were very happy to move around without the h...

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