"The Bread Story" for Remembering the Names, Order, and Functions of the Cranial Nerves
We know how important the cranial nerves are to SLPs, especially with medically complex patients. However, they are also notoriously hard to remember in order with their functions. Many methods have been devised over the years, and while I still can remember the order of the initials (due to a rather colorful acrostic), it was hard initially not to switch around some that start with the same letters or recall what each one does. Fortunately, SLPs also specialize in language memory tricks. Turning a list into a story is a great way to remember order. Attaching a word's meaning to the way it sounds is too. In "The Bread Story," I combine both of these memory techniques in order to facilitate learning or recalling the names, order, and function of the Cranial nerves (with those features emphasized below).
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1: At ONE in the morning, a delicious aroma wafted into the room. Ooh, it must be the Ol’Factory where they bake bread, I thought. I love that smell! (CN I: Olfactory)
2: Optically, I couldn’t see through TO the bread company as it was TOO (TWO) dark.
Looking around for the light switch, my eyes shifted left and right. (CN II: Optic)
3: Then, I hit the the (occulo)motor for the lights and they began to hum as they shined brighter and brighter. I blinked my eyes THREE times as I adjusted to the new brightness in the room. (CN III: Occulomotor)
4: "Maybe that’s coming from upstairs on the FOURTH floor," I thought looking up! "Or could it be from downstairs," I said to myself as I looked down. "This is driving me crazy," I thought as my eyes crossed. It should be so clear (trochlear) where it’s coming from but I just can’t tell. (CN IV: Trochlear)
5: I walked into my own kitchen to see if it was coming from there. My face started to feel warmer as I approached the oven and I immediately started chewing the air. “Geeze, I’m such a glutton,” I chuckled to myself. After I find that bread and devour it, I’m going to need to try gymin’ al day, FIVE days per week. (CN V: Trigeminal)
6: My eyes spread as I patted my belly and thought to myself, “My Ab(s) do sense some changes since high school (haha). I hope the food doesn’t make me sick (SIX).” (CN VI: Abducens)
7: Nonetheless, I’m eating that bread when I find it! "Ah ha!" I find the bread cooling on my kitchen windowsill and I take big bite out of a slice, getting crumbs all over my face (facial). I chew SEVEN times as the delectable taste fills the front of my mouth. (CN VII: Facial)
8: I heard the crunch of the bread crust echoing through my (vestibule)-cochlea(r) as I ATE (EIGHT) it and paced through the kitchen vestibule nearly tripping over the doorway. (CN VIII: Vestibulocochlear)
9: NINE seconds later, I finally push the food to the back of my tongue and into the pharynx (CN IX: Glossopharyngeal)
10: I haven’t had food this good since my trip to Vegas (Vagus) TEN years ago, I think as the food traveled down my larynx. (CN X: Vagus).
11: I know the perfect accessory for this snack! I exclaim to myself. I turn my head and neck toward the fridge then go to it and pour an ELEVEN ounce glass of milk. (CN XI: Spinal/Accessory)
12: The cold milk hits the muscles of my tongue, just as my roommate walks in. “You Hype(oglossal)” she exclaims! “Did you eat the bread I baked for my grandmother???” “Oops,” I say. "Don’t worry, there are still TWELVE bites left." ;) (CN XII: Hypoglossal)
For more information on each cranial nerve's function and how to assess it, check out this resource from swallowstudy.com.
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