Cranial Nerves Case Study
Question Description
All requirements are listed in uploaded document.
The purpose of this assignment is to familiarize you with the techniques of writing a lab report. In completing this assignment you will evaluate the data that you collected on the function of the cranial nerves and draw conclusions from them. You will use the data you gathered in lab as the control or normal subject and you will use the description given below to formulate data for an “experimental” or abnormal subject. To write your lab report, follow the format specified on the last page of this document and use the rubric provided to guide the content.
Zoe’s Case
Zoe is a 5-year-old girl who was recently evaluated for vision problems. Her left eye tends to rotate medially, giving her a slightly cross-eyed appearance. Her parents had observed their daughter turning her head to the left while focusing on an object directly in front of her. An ophthalmologist examined Zoe by moving a penlight in front of her face. When the doctor moved the light above Zoe’s head she was able to move both eyes to look up and when the doctor moved the light below Zoe’s chin she was able move both eyes to look down. Zoe was also able to move both eyes to follow a light to the right side of her head. However, when the doctor moved the light to Zoe’s left, her left eye continued to face forward while the right eye followed the light. Further examination revealed that Zoe is healthy and her visual acuity in each eye is normal. Eyelid position, pupil size, and pupillary reflexes are also normal. The ophthalmologist concluded that Zoe’s strabismus (misalignment of the eyes) was most likely due to a developmental problem with one of her cranial nerves. The doctor went on to explain that strabismus can make it difficult for Zoe to focus both eyes on a single object and the head turning behavior was a normal compensation. The doctor suggested prismatic glasses for Zoe to help improve her ability to focus her vision and prevent the need for head turning.
General Guidelines:
Although you worked with a partner while completing the lab exercise, you must write your own, individual lab report. Copying another student’s paper or portions thereof constitutes plagiarism.
The lab report must be typed.
The lab report must be submitted to Canvas
Be as concise as possible. Be specific in your wording. The best lab reports are ones that make every word count. Strive for logic and precision and avoid ambiguity. Keep the writing impersonal; do not use person (i.e., I or we).
Proofread your report before submitting it for grading. Mistakes in grammar and spelling will factor into your final grade. Have a neutral person review and critique your report before submission. If you need help, see your instructor or go to the LAC for assistance.
The report needs to be written in sufficient detail so that a person with the same background as you can read the report and understand it.
Do not say the hypothesis was accepted or rejected and then say nothing to explain beyond that. Include data from the lab results to demonstrate that the hypothesis was accepted or rejected.
Do not just list data. It needs to be in a format that suits the data, i.e. graph.
Academic honesty is required. This includes copying other students work, not just published materials. The HCC handbook states:
“Academic honesty means the use of one’s own thoughts and materials in the writing of papers, tests and other classroom related activities….
Students are expected to give full credit for the borrowing of other’s words or ideas. Intentional or unintentional use of another’s words or ideas without acknowledging this use constitutes plagiarism:
The duplication of an author’s words without quotation marks and accurate references and footnotes.
The duplication of author’s words or phrases with footnotes or accurate references but without quotation marks
The use of author’s ideas in paraphrase without accurate references or footnotes.
Submitting a paper in which exact words are merely rearranged even though footnoted.”
The penalty for the first infraction of the Academic Honesty policy is to receive a zero on the assignment. The second offense may result in a failing grade for the course.
Make sure to use in-text citations when quoting or paraphrasing another author’s words, phases, ideas or data. Merely rearranging the order of words and not using an in text citation constitutes plagiarism. APA style format for in text and full citations must be used
Your originality score from turnitin.com must be below 25% for you to receive a grade for this report. If your originality score is above 25% by the due date you will receive a zero on this assignment.
Notes:
Material covering cranial nerves is in pages 495-503 of your textbook.
This report is only about the cranial nerves relating to the eyes.
Be sure to address both sensory and motor functions of the cranial nerves that serve the eyes.
Data must be reported in graph or table format.
You must use in text citations where appropriate in the body of the paper. Failure to do so results in plagiarism and will be treated as a violation of HCC’s academic honesty policy. You must use APA format for in text citations and for the full reference in the literature cited section of the paper. If you fail to use the proper APA citation format you will lose points, see rubric above.
BIOL 203 Lab Report Grading Rubric
Item Possible points Your score
Introduction (9 pts total)
Purpose – statement of overall purpose of study 1
Background
Name the 12 cranial nerves and explain their overall function 1
Identify the cranial nerve(s) that carry sensory information from the
eyes to the brain 1
Identify the cranial nerve(s) that carry motor commands from the
brain to the eye and identify the muscles that are innervated by each nerve 2
Explain how these nerves operate together to allow proper
function of the eye 2
Hypothesis – Predict which cranial nerve is malfunctioning in Zoe’s case 2
Procedures (2 pts total)
Explain how the function of each of the nerves identified above was
tested in the lab (only the eye-related tests) 2
Results (2 pts total)
Report data in table format (include the control data collected in the lab 1
and compare it to the data from Zoe’s examination)
Give proper labels and titles for tables and graphs 1
Discussion (8 pts total)
Summary and interpretation of data
For each test performed, compare the results between the control and
experimental subjects 2
Relate the results to the background information in the Introduction 2
Analysis of results
Explain how the results support the hypothesis
– OR – Explain how the results contradict the hypothesis 3
Describe any points of uncertainty or further questions 1
Conclusion (1 pt total)
give a brief overview of the study and the conclusions that can be made
from it 1
Literature cited (2 pts total)
APA style list of references and in-text citations 2
Use of correct format for report (see page above) 1
Total points for assignment 25
Format: Your paper must follow the format outlined below. The format of this paper follows the APA research report format. An example of this format can be found at: http://www.thewritesource.com/apa/apa.pdf
Title Page: The title page should be on a separate sheet of paper and contain
the title of the report, your name, the name(s) of your lab partner(s),
the course number and the date that the report was submitted.
The body of the paper should contain the following clearly labeled sections:
Introduction: An introduction provides a concise statement, in paragraph form, of the
purposes or aims of the experiment/test. Although the introduction varies with the style of the author and tests performed, it should only contain information that is relevant to the case. The introduction should be no more than one typed page in length. You must include a hypothesis based on the case study and the background material. Give a reason for your hypothesis that is based on what is known about the function of the facial nerve. Make sure to cite all references properly in the body of the paper
Procedures: This section explicitly describes the details of the tests performed. Do not copy from the lab manual. Describe in your own words the procedures you used to test the functions of cranial nerves.
Results: This section is used to present your results. You should not report raw data. It should be tabulated and presented in the form of tables and graphs. Make sure that all tables and graphs are labeled appropriately.
Discussion: The data is analyzed and discussed in this section. It is important to interpret the data, not simply restate it. Try to relate your results to existing knowledge of the function of the cranial nerves. Are your results in agreement with your hypothesis? Discuss this, and try to explain any discrepancies. What are the main points of uncertainty in interpreting your data? You may speculate, but acknowledge that you are doing that. Include suggestions that you may have for improving the design of the tests. If you use material from other sources to support your discussion, you must cite the reference.
Conclusion: In this section, you will make a brief summary of the main results, along with any uncertainties.
Literature Cited: Use the APA format for citations within the paper and in your reference list. Consult http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
if you are unfamiliar with this format.
