The Woman with a Hole in her Brain

In this article (https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22329861.900-woman-of-24-found-to-have-no-cerebellum-in-her-brain#.VSq-1ouKrVv), the author talked about a woman who had lived basically all of her life without her cerebellum. She never really realized what was wrong until she suffered more significant symptoms, like dizziness and nausea. For the majority of her life, she had problems with balance and coordination, and also had trouble talking; the space that is normally occupied by the cerebellum was instead occupied by cerebrospinal fluid. I can relate to this quite well because I actually went to the hospital myself and received numerous brain scans due to an infection of my inner ear, which in turn affected my cerebellum; I had severe vertigo for a period in my life. Because the cerebellum controls motor control and balance, I was dizzy every time I stood up.

For example, if the hypothalamus was missing or severely damaged, I do not think that a person would be able to survive. Because the hypothalamus controls homeostasis, which includes regulation of temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure, the body would react very badly if one's environment changed. For example, the body shivers to generate heat when the environment is cold. If the hypothalamus were to be damaged, there would be no message telling our body to shiver, and as a result we could die due to exposure. Furthermore, the hypothalamus also controls the secretion of certain hormones from the pituitary gland, so damage to the hypothalamus would affect the function of the pituitary gland as well. Because the function of the hypothalamus is rather unique, I do not think it would be possible for another structure of the brain to "take over" for the hypothalamus.