c16: other neurological disorders, brain injuries, and brain pathologies Flashcards
what is schizophrenia
difficulty with reality, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia
what are the 3 categories of schizophrenic symptoms? name and describe all
positive: things added to behavior (hallucinations, delusions)
negative: things removed/reduced in schizophrenia (reduced emotions)
cognitive: difficulty planning, keeping attention, organizing thoughts
what are the types of causes for schizophrenia
genetics and epigenetics (environment)
what is the genome wide association studies
investigates genetic markers for schizophrenia, specific genes that code for schizophrenia
what is the diathesis stress model
model of schizophrenia and other disorders where genes linked to specific disorders are expressed during stressful events
what happens in the brain during schizophrenia
decreased brain matter in frontal and temporal lobes, ventricles increases in gaps. all implies loss of neural tissue in brain
dopamine hypothesis
schizophrenia is due to overactivation of dopamine receptors
glutamate hypo-functioning hypothesis
schizophrenia is due to underactivation of glutamate in the brain
what are the two types of treatments for schizophrenia
typical and atypical antipsychotics
describe typical antipsychotics
dopamine agonists that treats schizophrenia
what are types of typical antipsychotics
chloropromazine and haloperidol
what are some side effects of typical antipsychotics
drowsiness, low sex drive, weight gain, tardive dyskinesia
what is tardive dyskinesia
severe side effect of typical antipsychotics. uncontrollable muscle twitching
describe atypical antipsychotics
medications that don’t work on everyone and doesn’t have as many severe side effects as typical antipsychotics
what is an example of an atypical antipsychotic
chlozapine, antagonist for serotonin and dopamine receptors
define senility
natural decline of movement, senses, and memory that happens during aging in a person
dementia
loss of cognitive function due to neurodegenerative diseases
what does alzheimer’s disease do? symptoms?
causes 60-70% of dementia. impacts long/short term memory and eventually causes death. can cause confusion and irritability
what are two factors of alzheimer’s disease
beta-amyloid plaque and neurofibrillary tangles
describe beta-amyloid plaque and how it causes alzheimer’s
amyloid precursor proteins (APP) is a type of protein that helps with the growth of neural tissue. enzymes cut up APP into fragments (beta amyloid) that clump together and create plaque. these clumps bind together and can destroy dendrites, axons, and cells in the brain
describe neurofibrillary tangles and how it causes alzheimer’s
microtubules in brain cells act as support for cells. they are held together by tau proteins. these tau proteins later disintegrate and cause neurofibrillary tangles. no support from microtubules causes cells to die
what is APOEɛ4
recessive allele that increases the likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s
what is a seizure
uncontrollable excitation of neurons that can cause muscle contractions, confusion, and loss of consciousness
what is epilepsy
a disease where a person has multiple seizures
list and describe the types of seizures
partial seizures: starts at a specific location in the brain
generalized seizures: seizure that has no focal point of origin
list and describe the types of partial seizures (2)
simple partial seizures: cause a behavioral/psychological response to that focal point (ie motor cortex)
complex partial seizures: starts at temporal lobe. causes dizziness, confusion, loss of consciousness, and memory loss. spreads to other areas of the brain
list and describe the types of generalized seizures (2)
absence: seizure that lasts 15 sec. loss of consciousness with no memory of it
tonic-clonic seizure: most severe type of seizure. lasts for an extended period of time. muscle contractions and loss of consciousness
what causes seizures
an imbalance of excitation and inhibition NTs (GABA)
what type of drugs are used to treat seizures
anti-epileptic drugs
what is a tumor
a group of cells that grow uncontrollably
what are the two types of seizures? describe them
benign tumor: slow growth, defined border
malignant tumor: fast growth, no border
what is a stroke
when blood is unable to reach specific areas of the brain, causing glial cells and neurons to lose oxygen and glucose
what is an ischemic stroke
when a blood vessel gets blocked
what is a thrombus in an ischemic stroke
fatty deposits and cholesterol that narrow a vessel
what is a hemorrhagic stroke
blood vessel leaks/ruptures, causing bleeding in the brain
what is an open head injury
an injury where the skull is pierced or fractured
what is a closed head injury
damage to the brain without the skull getting damaged
what is a subdurla hematoma
a closed head injury where blood vessels tear and cause bleeding between the cortex and dura matter. bleeding in the brain
what is a concussion? what are some symptoms
a mild traumatic head injury that temporarily affects the brain. due to striking or shaking of head
symptoms: dizziness, headaches, nausea, confusion, amnesia, visual problems
describe a coup-contrecoup injury (coup = “coo”)
a brain injury where the brain bounces back and forth. the coup is the main injury / motion, contrecoup is the opposite side of the brain that gets injured
what is a diffuse axonal injury
damage to long axonal tracts in the brain such as the corpus callosum. axon fibers break and bend
what is post concussion syndrome? what part of the brain can it effect?
when symptoms of a concussion last longer than normal. can cause damage to the pituitary gland
what is second impact syndrome
swelling/damage to the brain due to a second blow to the head. usually happens in sports (ie football player receiving 2 concussions)
mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI)
a brain injury where a person is dizzy for less than 30 mins or they don’t lose consciousness
traumatic brain injury (TBI)
a closed or open head injury due to sports, car accidents, etc
chronic traumatic encephalopathy
degenerative disease associated with repeated brain injury
describe meningitis and its symptoms
a pathogen that infects the meninges in the brain and spinal cord
symptoms: headache, fever, stiff neck, confusion, hypersensitivity to light/noise
how is meningitis diagnosed
lumbar puncture. a long needle is inserted to the spinal cord to extract cerebrospinal fluid. “spinal tap”
