Chapter 10 - Brain Damage and Neuroplasticity Flashcards
Tumor (neoplasm)
A mass of cells that grows independently of the rest of the body
Meningiomas
Tumors that grow between the meninges
Encapsulated tumors
Tumors that grow within their own membrane
Benign tumors
Tumors that are surgically removable with little risk of further growth in the body
Infiltrating tumors
Tumors that grow diffusely through surrounding tissus
Malignant tumors
Tumors that are difficult to remove or destroy, and continue to grow after attempts to remove or destroy them
Gliomas
Brain tumors that develop from glial cells
Metastatic tumors
Tumors that originate in one organ and spread to another
Strokes
Sudden-onset cerebrovascular disorders that cause brain damage
Penumbra
The dysfunctional area of brain tissue around an infarct. The tissue in the penumbra may recover or die in the days following a stroke.
Cerebral hemorrhage
Bleeding in the brain
Aneurysm
A pathological balloonlike dilation that forms in the wall of an artery at a point where the elasticity of the artery wall is defective
Congenital
Present at birh
Thrombosis
The blockage of blood flow by a plug (a thrombus) at the site of its formation
Embolism
The blockage of blood flow in a smaller blood vessel by a plug that was formed in a larger blood vessel and carried by the bloodstream to the smaller one
Parkinson’s disease
A movement disorder that is associated with degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra
Substantia nigra
The midbrain nucleus whose neurons project via the nigrostriatal pathway to the striatum of the basal ganglia; it is part of the mesotelencephalic dopamine system
Nigrostriatal pathway
The pathway along which axons from neurons in the substantia nigra project to the striatum
Striatum
A structure of the basal ganglia that is the terminal of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway
Alpha-synuclein (come back to this)
A neuronal protein that, in humans, is encoded by the SNCA gene. It regulates synaptic vesicle trafficking and subsequent neurotransmitter release.
(via Wikipedia)
pg.268
Autopsy often reveals clumps of a protein called
alpha-synuclein in the surviving dopaminergic neurons
of the substantia nigra—these clumps are known as Lewy
bodies, after the German pathologist who first reported
them in 1912 (see Lashuel et al., 2013). Alpha-synuclein
is currently the focus of intense research because it is
believed to play an important role in the development and spread of pathology in the brains of Parkinson’s patients
(see Harris et al., 2020; Mor et al., 2017; Roy, 2017; Visanji
et al., 2016; but see Surmeier, Obeso, & Halliday, 2017)
Lewy bodies
Clumps of proteins that can be found in the surviving dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra of Parkinson’s patients
L-dopa
The chemical precursor of dopamine, which is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease
Deep brain stimulation
A treatment in which low intensity electrical stimulation is continually applied to an area of the brain through an implanted electrode
Subthalamic nucleus
A nucleus that lies just below the thalamus and is connected to the basal ganglia; deep brain stimulation applied to this site has been used to treat Parkinson’s disease
Huntington’s disease
A progressive terminal disorder of motor and intellectual function that is produced in adulthood by a dominant gene
Huntingtin
The dominant gene that is mutated in cases of Huntington’s disease
Huntingtin protein
A protein whose synthesis is controlled by the huntingtin gene and is thus abnormal in individuals with Huntington’s disease
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
A progressive disease that attacks the myelin of axons in the central nervous system
Ataxia
A loss of motor coordination
Epidemiology
The study of the factors that influence the distribution of a disease in the general population