brain damage and recovery Flashcards

1
Q

what protects the CNS?

A

bone (skull and spinal vertebrae)/ blood brain barrier

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2
Q

what can cause damage to the CNS?

A

injury/disease/ age-related changes

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3
Q

who studies brain damage?

A

Clinical neuropsychologists/ Physiological psychologists

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4
Q

why study brain damage?

A

Increases our understanding of normal brain function/ to develop new treatments for brain damage

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5
Q

traumatic brain injury

A

Brain becomes injured by some external mechanical force/ closed head injury: skull not compromised

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6
Q

contusion

A

closed head injury, damage to cerebral circulatory system

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7
Q

concussion

A

Disturbed consciousness but no obvious structural damage

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8
Q

contusion symptoms

A
  • loses consciousness
  • memory loss
  • problems with coordination
  • changes in behaviour/ personality
  • trouble with speech or vision
  • There are instances where seizure occurs
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9
Q

concussion symptoms

A
  • Loss of consciousness is one of the immediate symptoms of a concussion
  • tinnitus
  • headaches
  • dizziness
  • slurred speech
  • sensitivity to light
  • changes In personality
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10
Q

Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury

A

Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) is a traumatic brain injury
Caused by rapid movement of the brain in the skull
where parts of the brain shift during injury

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11
Q

Diffuse Axonal Brain Injury causes

A

axons rip apart/ neutrons die due to toxic levels of neurotransmitters released/ severe DAI is clinically characterised by a coma lasting 6+ hours

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12
Q

chronic traumatic encephalopathy

A

A neurodegenerative disorder arising from multiple blows to the head/ protein called Tau forms clumps that slowly spread throughout the brain, killing brain cells.

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13
Q

tumours

A

A cancerous mass of cells/ Meningiomas grow between the meninges of the brain
and encapsulates tumours

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14
Q

Meningiomas

A

Easy to identify on a CT scan / They cause symptoms by applying pressure on surrounding areas

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15
Q

Infiltrating Tumours

A

not encapsulated and grow diffusely through surrounding tissue

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16
Q

metastatic tumours

A

tumour that spreads from one area to the other

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17
Q

disease and brain damage

A

cerebrovascular events such as stroke/ neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimers disease, Parkinson’s, other dementias..

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18
Q

stroke

A

Sudden cerebrovascular events that cause brain damage/ 10,000 cases a year in Irish population: of these, 2,000 will die

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19
Q

types of strokes

A

Cerebral Haemorrhage (e.g. Aneurysm)/ cerebral ischaemia

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20
Q

Cerebral Haemmorhage (e.g. Aneurysm)

A

Ruptured blood vessel bleeds into the brain

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21
Q

Cerebral Ischaemia

A

Disrupted blood flow to an area of the brain/
Thrombosis: clot forms, blocks blood flow
Embolism: Clot travels from a larger vessel
Arteriosclerosis: Thickened artery walls prevent blood travelling

22
Q

Thrombosis

A

clot forms, blocks blood flow

23
Q

embolism

A

clot travels from a larger vessel

24
Q

Ischaemic Damage

A

Once ischaemia begins, it is important to receive treatment FAST/ Can take up to two days for damage to fully stop because of Toxic Glutamate Cascade

25
Q

Ischaemic Cascade and Treatment

A

Aspirin can prevent or reduce clotting/ Stroke prevention shown to be more successful than treatment

26
Q

impacts of stroke, depends on location of penumbra

A

right hemisphere: left side of body damaged
left hemisphere: right side of body damaged, speech disorders

27
Q

impact of stroke

A

amnesia
aphasia - affects 1/3 stroke patients
paralysis
coma

28
Q

Recovery following Stroke

A

Age, education level, type and severity of stroke all predict recovery/ individuals who have large language-related white matter tracts in the contralateral hemisphere recover faster

29
Q

Neurodegenerative Diseases

A

A range of diseases that affect neurons/ Progressive/ incurable/ result in death or degeneration of neurons

30
Q

Alzheimer’s Disease

A

Progressive neurodegenerative disorder/ Cognitive impairment, mostly memory-related

31
Q

Alzheimer’s Disease progress

A

gradual – typically patients live 8-10 years following diagnosis

32
Q

Alzheimer Pathology

A
  • Amyloid plaques
  • Neurofibrillary tangles
    clumps of protein that clog up the brain causing neuronal death
33
Q

How do we diagnose Alzheimer’s disease?

A

Plaques and tangles lead to neurodegeneration – cortical thinning, enlargening of ventricles, loss of volume/ hippocampus especially affected

34
Q

PET to conform diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

A

Positron emission tomography (PET) can measure amount of amyloid plaque in the brain

35
Q

The Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis

A

Stern (2002, 2009): Some individuals are “protected” against AD pathology because of their Cognitive Reserve

36
Q

How does Cognitive Reserve work?

A

Greater levels of cognitive stimulation result in more effective use of neural networks despite damage

37
Q

Cognitive Reserve and Alzheimer’s Disease Progression

A

AD patients with higher CR remained cognitively intact for longer than those with lower CR despite having same amount of AD pathology (Vemuri et al., 2001)

38
Q

The Rush Religious Orders Study

A
  • from 1994 to 2011
  • Cohort study of nuns and priests who agreed to donate their brains at death
  • They had amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles despite not having dementia! (Bennett et al., 2006)
  • Can amyloid plaques then be reliably used as a diagnostic for AD?
39
Q

Neural Degeneration

A

Progressive cell death

40
Q

Anterode degeneration

A

Distal (far) part of neuron dies

41
Q

Retrograde degeneration

A

Proximal (near) part of neuron dies

42
Q

Transneuronal degeneration

A

Degeneration spread from damaged neurons via synapse to other neurons

43
Q

Neurodegeneration in disease

A

Occurs in:
Alzheimer’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Multiple sclerosis
Schizophrenia
Stroke

44
Q

Ateophy

A

Tissue loss

45
Q

What can Myelin can be damaged by?

A

Stroke
Inflammation
Immune disorders
Metabolic disorders
Nutritional deficiencies
Poisions
Drugs (ethambutol)

46
Q

Multiple sclerosis

A

Condition of central nervous system/ immune attack on myelin causing loss of movement, sensation, feelings of pain and vision

47
Q

How do we treat nervous system damage?

A

Blocking neurodegeneration/ promoting CNS regeneration/ rehabilitation

48
Q

Blocking neurodegeneration

A

Apoptosis inhibitor protein- prevents further neuronal loss ( rat hippocampus, 1999) / nerve growth factors

49
Q

the insights gained from studying different of brain damage.

A

Studying different forms of brain damage provides valuable perspectives on normal brain function.

50
Q

motor Impairments from stroke

A

stroke can cause damage to specific areas of the brain responsible for motor control, such as the primary motor cortex, premotor cortex, and supplementary motor area. The disruption of these regions can result in motor impairments, including weakness, paralysis, and difficulties in initiating or coordinating movements. Benjamin et al.’s (2020)

51
Q

What are the cognitive consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) according to Smith et al. (2017)?

A

Memory impairments, attention deficits, and impacts on executive functions.

52
Q

How do findings from studying brain damage contribute to understanding normal brain function?

A

Findings from studying brain damage provide insights into the vital role cognitive functions play in everyday activities and offer a lens to appreciate the normal functioning of the brain.