Week 13 — A&P Lab / Scientific Inquiry · "Map the Brain"

Course: Anatomy & Physiology I (BIOL 2301 + BIOL 2101) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Navarro
Objective: Objective 7 — identify the major regions of the brain and their functions; the meninges, CSF, and the reflex arc · SLO A (relate structure to function) · SLO B (use anatomical terminology correctly)
Worth 50 points · Labs group = 15% of the grade · Lab 13
Format: a guided exploration of a free virtual brain/nervous-system atlas (no download, nothing to buy) — you'll locate brain regions, state what each one does, and then catch the AI's mistakes when it labels the brain.

This is the course's signature weekly component. Every instructional week has one A&P lab. This week's uses a free virtual nervous-system atlas; you can also run a simple at-home reflex demo (Part 3, Option B). All lab resources are links to external sites — nothing to buy or download.

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Part 1 — The Big Picture

This week you learned that the brain is a map: what a region does depends almost entirely on where it sits. A clinician uses that map every time they read a scan or reason about a stroke — the deficit tells you the location, and the location predicts the deficit. Today you'll use that map on a real brain model — locate each major region on a free virtual atlas and pair it with its function, the way a precise clinical note would.

The scientific habit this builds: observation → precise description → checking your description against a reference. In A&P, "precise description" is the anatomical language — and the lab is where it becomes automatic.

Sensitivity note: parts of this lab touch on brain injury and stroke. We treat that content factually, clinically, and respectfully — understanding why an injury to a region matters is exactly the reasoning a health professional uses.

Background (optional, ~5 min): OpenStax A&P §13.2, "The Central Nervous System" — keep it open as your answer key for the brain regions: 🔗 https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/13-2-the-central-nervous-system

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Part 2 — Your Scientific Question & Hypothesis

Anatomy labs still start like any inquiry — with a question and a prediction you'll test against evidence (here, the atlas).

The question: Can you identify each major region of the brain and correctly pair it with its function — so reliably that, given a lost ability, you could predict which region was damaged?

Before you start, write your hypothesis / prediction:

I predict that for the regions below, I can name the correct primary function for each — and that when I ask an AI to map the brain, it will make at least ______ region→function error(s) I can catch (for example, putting vision in the wrong lobe).

(There's no "right" number — you're predicting how reliable the AI will be, then checking.)

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Part 3 — Materials & Procedure

You need (all free, in a browser):
- The InnerBody "Nervous System" atlas (free, no download): 🔗 https://www.innerbody.com/image/nervov.html
- Optional second reference: OpenStax §13.2 (linked above).
- An approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) for Part 6.

Procedure — Option A (virtual brain atlas, recommended):
1. Open the InnerBody Nervous System page and read/scan the Brain, Spinal Cord, Meninges, Cerebrospinal Fluid, and Reflexes sections so you can see where each structure sits and what it does.
2. For each region in the Part 4 table, record its primary function (a few words) and one identifying feature or location (e.g., "at the very back of the brain," "lowest part of the brainstem").
3. Put the three meninges in order (outer → inner) in the table.
4. Keep OpenStax §13.2 (and the §13.3 meninges/CSF section) open and check each of your own answers against it before moving on.

No specific atlas access? Any free virtual brain atlas or 3D viewer works (e.g., GetBodySmart's nervous-system tutorials). The skill — pair each region with its function and verify it — is identical.

Procedure — Option B (at-home reflex demo, optional add-on or substitute for Part 5 #3):
- Sit with your legs crossed at the knee, leg relaxed and dangling. Have a partner gently tap the patellar tendon just below the kneecap with the edge of a hand or a soft object. Observe the knee-jerk reflex (the lower leg kicks).
- In a sentence, trace the reflex arc for what you just saw: receptor (in the tendon) → sensory neuron → integration center (spinal cord) → motor neuron → effector (thigh muscle). Note that the leg moved before you "decided" to move it.

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Part 4 — Structure-Identification Table (fill this in)

Brain region / structure	Primary function	One identifying feature or location
Frontal lobe	______	______
Occipital lobe	______	★ ______
Temporal lobe	______	______
Cerebellum	______	★ ______
Hypothalamus	______	______
Medulla oblongata	______	★ ______
Meninges (order, outer → inner)	(protect the CNS)	__ → _ → ___

Use standard terms. Functions to choose from include: voluntary movement/planning; vision; hearing/memory; coordination/balance; homeostasis (temperature, hunger, thirst); vital centers (heart rate, breathing). The ★ rows are the three the AI most often gets wrong.

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Part 5 — Identify the Reasoning

Answer in a sentence each:
1. The principle this week is "location is function." Pick one region from your table and explain how knowing where it is lets you predict what's lost if it's injured.
2. Two of the structures above are part of the brainstem region's life-support role, and two are parts of the cerebrum's cortex. Which are which — and why is an injury to the medulla so much more dangerous than an injury to a small patch of cortex?
3. Pick one protective structure (a meninx, or CSF) and explain how it protects the soft brain. (This is the structure→function habit.) (If you did Option B, you may instead trace the knee-jerk reflex arc in order and say where the decision is made.)

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Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (required — this is the BYOAI step)

Now bring in your approved chatbot (Gemini, Claude, or ChatGPT) and be the clinician who checks its chart.

1. Paste this to the chatbot: "Label the major regions of the brain and what each does: the four cerebral lobes, the cerebellum, the thalamus, the hypothalamus, and the medulla. Then list the three meninges in order from outer to inner."
2. Check everything it says against the atlas and OpenStax §13.2:
   - Did it put vision in the occipital lobe (not the temporal)? Chatbots frequently assign vision to the temporal lobe — catch it.
   - Did it give coordination/balance to the cerebellum (not the cerebrum)?
   - Did it keep the thalamus = relay and hypothalamus = homeostasis straight (not swapped)?
   - Did it put heart rate/breathing in the medulla?
   - Did it order the meninges dura → arachnoid → pia (outer to inner), not reversed?
3. Write 2–3 sentences reporting what the AI got right and at least one region→function error you caught and corrected (with the correct region). If it happened to get everything right, say how you verified each pairing against the atlas — that's the skill.

The habit all term: the tool drafts, you judge. A chatbot will confidently put vision in the wrong lobe or scramble the meninges — catching it is the point, and with brain mapping in the clinic, it's not optional.

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Part 7 — What to Submit

Submit a single document (or text entry) with: your hypothesis/prediction, your completed Part 4 table, your Part 5 answers, and your Part 6 AI-critique paragraph. Due Sunday, Nov 29, 11:59 p.m. (50 points).

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Instructor answer key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Every region→function pairing and the meninges order below is verified against standard anatomy (OpenStax §13.2 The Central Nervous System; §13.3 meninges & CSF; InnerBody nervous system).

Part 4 — verified answer table:

Brain region / structure	Primary function	Identifying feature / location
Frontal lobe	voluntary movement, planning, personality (speech)	front of the cerebrum, behind the forehead
Occipital lobe	vision	★ very back of the cerebrum
Temporal lobe	hearing and memory	sides of the cerebrum, by the ears
Cerebellum	coordination, balance, posture	★ below and behind the cerebrum ("little brain")
Hypothalamus	homeostasis (temperature, hunger, thirst; endocrine link)	deep center, below the thalamus (diencephalon)
Medulla oblongata	vital centers — heart rate, breathing, blood pressure	★ lowest part of the brainstem, meets the spinal cord
Meninges (outer → inner)	protect the CNS	dura mater → arachnoid mater → pia mater

• Part 5: (1) Example: the occipital lobe is at the back of the brain and runs vision, so a stroke there predicts vision loss even with healthy eyes — location predicts the deficit. (2) Brainstem life-support structure here = the medulla (and the brainstem broadly); cortex structures = any two cerebral lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital). An injury to the medulla is far more dangerous because it controls the vital autonomic centers (heart rate, breathing) — losing them collapses homeostasis immediately, whereas a small cortical patch knocks out one localized, often survivable function. (3) Example: CSF surrounds the brain in the subarachnoid space and acts as a liquid cushion (shock absorber) and makes the brain buoyant, so the soft tissue doesn't crush itself; dura mater adds a tough outer barrier against the skull. (Option B reflex arc: receptor in the patellar tendon → sensory neuron → spinal cord (integration center, decision made here) → motor neuron → thigh muscle (effector); the leg kicks before conscious control.)
• Part 6 (AI-critique): full credit for a specific catch — most commonly the AI assigning vision to the temporal lobe (it's the occipital), giving coordination to the cerebrum (it's the cerebellum), swapping thalamus/hypothalamus, or reversing the meninges (correct is dura → arachnoid → pia). Full credit also if the student verified each pairing against the atlas and OpenStax.

Grading rubric — 50 points

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Hypothesis / prediction — a clear prediction about both the regions and the AI's reliability (6)	6	3–4	0–2
Structure table (Part 4) — region→function pairings correct; the three ★ rows right; meninges in order (18)	18	9–15	0–7
Reasoning (Part 5) — location-is-function logic, brainstem-vs-cortex danger, and a sound structure→function point on protection (14)	14	7–11	0–5
AI-critique (Part 6) — names a specific region→function error caught and corrected with the right region (8)	8	4–6	0–3
Anatomical language — uses standard region/structure terms correctly throughout (4)	4	2	0–1

Quality gate (self-checked): every region→function pairing in the key is verified against standard anatomy (OpenStax §13.2; §13.3 meninges & CSF; InnerBody nervous system) — frontal=movement/planning, parietal=sensory, temporal=hearing/memory, occipital=vision, cerebellum=coordination/balance, thalamus=relay, hypothalamus=homeostasis, medulla=vital centers; the meninges order is dura → arachnoid → pia (outer → inner); CSF cushions/supports the brain and is made in the ventricles; the reflex arc runs receptor → sensory neuron → spinal cord → motor neuron → effector. No structure is mislabeled. Anatomy-accuracy gate: PASS. (No arithmetic in Week 13's lab, so the quantitative gate does not apply this week; it applied at the W2 pH, W3 osmolarity, and W12 membrane-potential labs.)

Provenance: built clean-room from Objective 7 and the standard A&P I CNS body of knowledge; all resource links verified live (2026-06-27); no license/CC claims.