23/24 Nervous System Flashcards
a person’s external expression of his/her inner emotional state
affect
continued pupillary dilation instead of constriction in the eye with a pre-chiasmic optic pathway lesion (e.g. optic neuritis) in response to shining a light in the damaged eye after first shining it in the normal eye
afferent pupillary defect (marcus-gunn pupil)
a loss of ability to express oneself in writing due to central lesion or to muscular incoordination
agraphia
inability to sit down because the though of doing so causes severe anxiety. patient has a feeling of restlessness and an urgent need of movement and complains of a feeling of muscular quivering
akathisia (acathisia)
complete or partial loss of muscle movement
akinesia
refers to a behavior used to limit pain
antalgic
inability to express oneself properly through speech, or loss of verbal comprehension. it is considered to be complete or total when both sensory and motor areas are involved
aphasia
impaired ability to coordinate muscular movement usually associated with staggering gait and postural imbalance
ataxia
slow, twisting, writhing movements, with larger amplitude than chorea, commonly involving the hands
atheotosis
an acute paralysis or weakness of one side of the face that is temporary
bell palsy
a general name for a large group of persisting, nonprogressive motor disorders appearing in young children and resulting from brain damage caused by birth trauma or intrauterine pathology
cerebral palsy
dance-like, involuntary rapid movemenss. can be associated with huntington disease, rheumatic fever, systemic lupus erythematosus and other conditions
chorea
rapidly alternating involuntary contraction and relaxation of skeletal muscles
clonus
irrecoverable deteriorative mental state, the common end result of many entities. loss of memory and other intellectual functions that is of sufficient severity to interfere with daily functioning
dementia
double vision caused by defective function of the extraocular muscles or a disorder of the nerves that innervate the muscles
diplopia
defective articulation secondary to a motor deficit involving the lips, tongue, palate, or pharynx (inability to pronounce or articulate words)
dysarthria
inability to quickly substitute antagonistic motor impulses to produce antagonistic muscular movements. inability to perform rapid alternating movements (pronation/supination of hands) indicates cerebellar dysfunction
dysdiadochokinesia
sensations, as of the pricks of pins and needles, or crawling
dysesthesia
defect in voluntary movement. term usually used in relation to various extrapyramidal disorders
dyskinesia
impairment of speech resulting from a brain lesion
dysphasia
difficulty in speaking; hoarseness. often related to weakness of laryngeal muscles, in which sound production is impaired.
dysphonia
impaired or disordered tonicity, especially muscle tone (involuntary muscle spasms)
dystonia
an acute inflammation of the brain and spinal cord
encephalitis
a localized, uncoordinated twitching of a single muscle group innervated by a single motor nerve filament; it is visible or palpable (involuntary)
fasciculations
fluent, effortless speech; words are malformed, may be totally incomprehensible. can hear words but cannot relate them to previous experiences. impairment of language comprehension including impaired repetition due to lesion of the posterior left superior temporal gyrus
fluent aphasia (wernicke’s or receptive aphasia)
the ability to recognize symbols, shapes, numbers, and letters traced on the skin
graphesthesia
blindness for half the field of vision in one or both eyes (indicating a pathological process posterior to the optic chiasm)
hemianopia
jerking and twitching movements of one side of the body (involuntary violent flinging or jerking of a limb or limbs in an uncoordinated manner caused by a lesion of the contralateral subthalamus)
hemiballismus
inflammation of the meninges
meningitis
a progressive autoimmune disorder which causes a degeneration of the myelin sheath of the brain’s white matter
MS multiple scelorsis
a congenital defect of the spine that allows the spinal contents to protrude
myelomeningocele (spina bifida)
any pathological condition of the spinal cord
myelopathy
twitching or clonic spasm of a muscle or group of muscles
myoclonus
any disease or abnormal condition of striated muscle (weakness that is usually proximal»_space; distal)
myopathy
cannot express oneself using language; few words; laborious effort; primarily uses nouns and verbs (eat pie, get mail) fair to good word comprehension (due to lesion of left inferior frontal lobe)
non-fluent aphasia
stiff neck
nuchal rigidity
temporary suspension or permanent loss of function (especially loss of sensation or voluntary motion)
paralysis
partial or incomplete paralysis
paresis
unusual sensation such as numbness, tingling, or burning
paresthesia
a condition commonly seen in diabetes of the PNS resulting in a decrease in both motor and sensory function
peripheral neuropathy
ability to recognize form of solid objects by touch
stereogenesis
sudden disruption of blood flow to the brain
stroke (cerebrovascular accident- CVA)
an involuntary movement of a part or parts of the body resulting from alternate contractions of opposite muscles. the trembling may be fine or coarse, rapid or slow, may appear on movement (intention tremor) or improve when the part is employed
tremor
