The only cranial nerve exam you will ever need ASMR!!

Fun fact of the day: Did you know that the "cranial nerve exam" checklist neurologists use to test your brain and head functions, doesn’t actually have a single inventor? It’s a result of over a century of neurological testing!! Back in the 1800s, Jean Martin Charcot in Paris was mapping the effects of neurological diseases and started formalizing how to assess reflexes, movement, and sensation in the head and face!! Around the same time, across the channel, William Gowers in London started documenting methods to test all 12 cranial nerves everything from smell (CN I) to tongue movement (CN XII)!! Over decades, these observations evolved into the modern structured cranial nerve exam we learn in med school!! checking pupillary reactions, eye movements, facial strength, hearing, swallowing, and more. Every time a neurologist asks you to "stick out your tongue" or "follow the light", you’re participating in a ritual crafted by 19th century brain detectives!! Next time you see a doctor testing cranial nerves, remember that you’re part of a tradition that’s over 150 years old!!