[sprite190582 (OP)]

This posing is on behalf of my partner. He is 25 years of age and suffers from asthma and a few allergies (dust pollen) but apart from that now seems all fit and healthy.
When he was 14 he had a brain haemorrhage. All he can remember of the event if feeling sick, dizzy and not being able to stand up. He woke 3 weeks later in a hospital bed, remained there for another 8 weeks and then had to have 12 months off school learning to walk, talk read and write again he was told that it effected his cerebellum. Physically he is 98% fit now, he can walk and talk, read and write. He does have slightly impaired hand eye co-ordination. Hear comes the embarrassing bit. He has trouble controlling his erections, it pops up at the most inappropriate time and from what he remembers has done ever since he was ill. His theory (based on what he has read on the internet) is that the cerebellum is very close to the pituitary gland and that maybe his pituitary gland was affected too. Can anyone confirm this or offer him any advice? He is now also worried that he may be Infertile due to all the scans he had.


Alex

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Yes the pituitary (that controls your errections) IS close to the cerebellum.  However, having them at inopprtune times is part of a seperate condition called "being male".  I doubt he has anything to worry about there(nor is there anything he can do about it to make it better besides picturing his grandma naked).

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[chris]

The pituitary is not close to the cerebellum, anatomically or functionally. The cerebellum is connected to the brainstem and makes a major contribution to movement control. This is why your boyfriend experienced difficulty with fine motor functions such as talking, writing, walking and reading (reading because this requires accurate eye movements - which are directed by the cerebellum - to be able to follow the words on the page).

The pituitary dangles from the hypothalamus and releases hormones into the bloodstream that affect fertility including the menstrual cycle in women, and sperm production and testosterone secretion in males. Whilst these hormones can influence libido, they will not directly produce erections. That's the job of the hypothalamus itself.

This region (situated in the base of the brain) receives dense inputs from the brainstem, some of which play a role in erection. Whilst unlikely, it is possible that when the cerebellum was damaged there was also involvement of the brainstem, and this may be responsible for the symptoms you describe.

Better to have too many erections than too few, though !

Best wishes

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[MayoFlyFarmer]

While I agree with your post, Chris, I'm going to stand with my statement that the pituitary IS rather close to the cerebellum. (at least by general proximity).  But I'm still guessing that the two conditions are unrelated, so it probably makes no difference.

This is a signature.... AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!

[chris]

No I'm sorry, the pituitary is a long way from the Cerebellum, at least in a human (do drosophila have a pituitary ?![])

By saying the pituitary is close to the cerebellum you may as well say that most of the brain is close to the cerebellum ![]

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Hah, no, no pituitary in drospphila (unless it just hasn't been discovered because its hiding behind the cerebellum....jk).
I finally broke down and pulled out a brain chart.  They are a little further apart than I was thinking, but they are both still in the southern hemisphere, which is all that I (thought) I was certain of.  I guess we just have different definitions of close.  Maybe since so much is packed into that lower part of the brain, there is no real functional signifigance to their proximity.  However on the order of the size of the body (or even the entire brain itself) they are still only a few centimeters apart, and I would think that hemoraging in one coue very potentially effect the other.  I'll trust your judgement though.... Humans aren't my model organism of choice [].  Now if you want to know how hemoraging in the musroom body effects the calyx of a fly....  well.... I really couldn't tell you much about that either [V]...  oh well, DNA is WAY cooler anyway![^]

This is a signature.... AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Yes the pituitary (that controls your errections) IS close to the cerebellum.  However, having them at inopprtune times is part of a seperate condition called "being male".  I doubt he has anything to worry about there(nor is there anything he can do about it to make it better besides picturing his grandma naked).

This is a signature.... AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!

[chris]

The pituitary is not close to the cerebellum, anatomically or functionally. The cerebellum is connected to the brainstem and makes a major contribution to movement control. This is why your boyfriend experienced difficulty with fine motor functions such as talking, writing, walking and reading (reading because this requires accurate eye movements - which are directed by the cerebellum - to be able to follow the words on the page).

The pituitary dangles from the hypothalamus and releases hormones into the bloodstream that affect fertility including the menstrual cycle in women, and sperm production and testosterone secretion in males. Whilst these hormones can influence libido, they will not directly produce erections. That's the job of the hypothalamus itself.

This region (situated in the base of the brain) receives dense inputs from the brainstem, some of which play a role in erection. Whilst unlikely, it is possible that when the cerebellum was damaged there was also involvement of the brainstem, and this may be responsible for the symptoms you describe.

Better to have too many erections than too few, though !

Best wishes

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[MayoFlyFarmer]

While I agree with your post, Chris, I'm going to stand with my statement that the pituitary IS rather close to the cerebellum. (at least by general proximity).  But I'm still guessing that the two conditions are unrelated, so it probably makes no difference.

This is a signature.... AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!

[chris]

No I'm sorry, the pituitary is a long way from the Cerebellum, at least in a human (do drosophila have a pituitary ?![])

By saying the pituitary is close to the cerebellum you may as well say that most of the brain is close to the cerebellum ![]

Chris

"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
 - Groucho Marx

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Hah, no, no pituitary in drospphila (unless it just hasn't been discovered because its hiding behind the cerebellum....jk).
I finally broke down and pulled out a brain chart.  They are a little further apart than I was thinking, but they are both still in the southern hemisphere, which is all that I (thought) I was certain of.  I guess we just have different definitions of close.  Maybe since so much is packed into that lower part of the brain, there is no real functional signifigance to their proximity.  However on the order of the size of the body (or even the entire brain itself) they are still only a few centimeters apart, and I would think that hemoraging in one coue very potentially effect the other.  I'll trust your judgement though.... Humans aren't my model organism of choice [].  Now if you want to know how hemoraging in the musroom body effects the calyx of a fly....  well.... I really couldn't tell you much about that either [V]...  oh well, DNA is WAY cooler anyway![^]

This is a signature.... AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!!