Use the following example to discuss information flow through the lower and middle brain structures.

Andrew, a 25–year-old graduate student, is lying quietly outside on his porch sunning himself, and he has fallen into a light sleep. A large black bumblebee bumps into his lower left leg, waking him. Describe the brain structures involved in:

·     waking him (the RAS)

·     processing the information about the bee (the thalamus),

·     generating a “fight or flight” response (the hypothalamus and amygdala),

·     allowing him to simultaneously shoo the bee away while moving his leg out of apparent danger (the cerebellum)

·     sending a message to his somatosensory cortex and frontal lobes for conscious processing

Note: Do not discuss processing in the cortex.