208: Neurological System Flashcards
Define intracranial regulation.
Mechanisms or conditions that impact intracranial processing and function.
What is the scope of intracranial regulation?
optimal —–> impaired (severe, moderate, mild)
What can cause impairment to the brain?
- reduced blood flow to the brain
- compromised neurotransmission
- damage to brain tissue
What are some population risk factors for intracranial regulation?
- Elderly population have a higher risk for degenerative pathology
- injury-related ICR problems are more commonly seen in the adolescent and young adult age group
What are some individual risk factors for stroke?
- age
- hypertension
- diabetes
- smoking
- obesity
- cardiovascular disease
- genetics
What assessments are related to intracranial regulation?
- History
- Examination Findings
- Mental Status assessment
- Glasgow coma scale
- Cranial nerves
- Intracranial pressure
- Measurement of cerebral perfusion pressure
- The National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale
What are some diagnostic tests used for intracranial regulation?
- neuroimaging studies
- skull radiograph
- electroencephalogram
- brain biopsy
- lumbar puncture
What are the three components of the Glasgow Coma Scale?
- eye opening
- verbal response
- motor response
Lobe that contains personality
frontal
Involuntary nerves, permit quick reaction to potentially damaging situations
reflexes
Knowing where your body parts are in space even if you are blindfolded
proprioception
Controls balance and equilibrium
cerebellum
For example, biceps, triceps, brachioradialis
deep tendon reflexes (DTR)
Pain, temperature, touch
sensory
Area of the brain concerned with personality, behaviour, emotions, and intellectual functioning.
Frontal lobe
What part of the frontal lobe initiates voluntary movement?
precentral gyrus
Which lobe is the primary centre for sensation?
parietal lobe
Which lobe is the primary visual receptor centre?
occipital lobe
Which area of the brain contains the primary auditory reception centre?
temporal lobe
Which area of the temporal lobe is associated with language comprehension?
Wernicke’s area
How many pairs of cranial nerves and how many pairs of spinal nerves are there?
12 pairs of cranial nerves
31 pairs of spinal nerves
What envelopes the CNS and what are they called?
meninges (dura, arachnoid and pia mater)
What is the purpose of the cerebral cortex (cerebrum)?
Centre for human’s highest functioning.
- governing thought, memory, reasoning, sensation and voluntary movement
Forms the sub-cortical motor system (extrapyramidal system). Controls automatic associated movements of body, like arms swinging while walking.
Basal ganglia
The main relay station for the nervous sytem.
Thalamus
Major control centre with many vital functions: controlling temperature, heart rate, and blood pressure; regulating sleep and the anterior and posterior pituitary gland; coordinating autonomic nervous system activity and emotional status.
Hypothalamus
In occipital region and concerned with motor coordination of voluntary movements, equilibrium, and muscle tone. Coordinates and smoothes movement.
Cerebellum
Central core of the brain consisting of mostly nerve fibres.
brain stem
What makes up the brain stem?
- midbrain
- pons
- medulla
Continuation of spinal cord in the brain. Vital autonomic centres (respiratory, cardiac, gastro-intestinal) as well as nuclei for cranial nerves 8 - 12.
Medulla
What does crossed representation refer to?
The left cerebral cortex receives sensory information from, and controls motor function to, the right side of the body, whereas the right cerebral cortex interacts with the left side of the body.
What is the spinothalamic tract?
Contains sensory fibres that transmit the sensations of pain, temperature, and crude or light touch.
What are the posterior (dorsal) columns?
These fivres conduct the sensations of position, vibration, and finely localized touch.
What is position (proprioception)?
the sense of where your body parts are in space and in relation to each other, without looking at them.
What does vibration entail?
the ability to feel vibrating objects
What does finely localized touch (stereognosis) entails?
the ability to identify familiar objects by touch, without looking.
What is the homunculus?
an illustration representing the proportion of the brain responsible for sensations in particular body parts.
What do corticospinal fibres mediate?
Voluntary movement, particularly very skilled, discrete, purposeful movements such as writing.
What are included in the extrapyramidal tracts and what do they do?
All motor nerve fibres originating in the motor cortex, basal ganglia, brain stem, and spinal cord that are outside the pyramidal tract. Maintain muscle tone and control body movements, esp gross automatic movements.
Where are most upper motor neurons found?
CNS