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
Alzheimer’s disease
The most common form of dementia in the elderly. Its three defining characteristics are neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaques, and neuron loss.
Arteriosclerosis
A condition in which blood vessels are narrowed or blocked by the accumulation of fat deposits on their walls
Glutamate
The most prevalent excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system
NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors
Glutamate receptors that play key roles in the development of stroke-induced brain damage and long-term potentiation at glutaminergic synapses
Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Serious damage caused to the brain by a blow to the head
Closed-head TBIs
Brain injuries produced by blows that do not penetrate the skull
Contusions
Closed-head injuries that involve damage to the cerebral circulatory system, which produces internal hemorrhaging
Subdural hematoma
A “puddle of blood” that accumulates in the subdural space—the space between
the dura mater and arachnoid
membrane—and severely distorts
the surrounding neural tissue.
Contrecoup injuries
Contusions that occur on the side of the brain opposite to the side of a blow
Mild TBI (mTBI)
When there is a disturbance of consciousness following a blow to the head and there is no evidence of contusion or other structural damage
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
The dementia and cerebral scarring observed in boxers, rugby players, american football players, and other individuals who have experienced repeated concussive, or even subconcussive blows to the head
Dementia
General intellectual deterioration
Encephalitis
The inflammation associated with brain infection
Meningitis
Inflammation of the meninges, usually caused by bacterial infection
Toxic psychosis
A chronic psychiatric disorder produced by exposure to a neurotoxin
Tau protein
Plays a role in maintaining the overall structure of neurons
Beta-amyloid
A protein that is present in normal brains in small amounts. Beta-amyloid is a major constituent of the amyloid plaques of Alzheimer’s disease.
Kindling phenomenon
The progressive development and intensification of convulsions elicited by a series of periodic low-intensity brain stimulations—most commonly by daily electrical stimulations to the amygdala
Epileptogenesis
Development of epilepsy
MPTP
A neurotoxin that produces a disorder in primates that is similar to Parkinson’s disease
Anterograde degeneration
The degeneration of the distal segment of a cut axon
Distal segment
The segment of a cut axon between the cut and the axon terminals
Tardive dyskinesia (TD)
A motor disorder that results from chronic use of certain antipsychotic drugs
Down syndrome
A disorder associated with the presence of an extra chromosome 21, resulting in disfigurement and intellectual impairment
Apoptosis
Cell death that is actively induced by genetic programs; programmed cell death
Epilepsy
A neurological disorder characterized by spontaneously recurring seizure
Convulsions
Motor seizures
Epileptic auras
Psychological changes that precede the onset of a seizure
Focal seizure
A seizure that does not involve the entire brain
Simple seizures
Focal seizures in which the symptoms are primarily sensory or motor or both
Complex seizures
Seizures that are characterized by various complex psychological phenomena and are thought to originate in the temporal lobes
Generalized seizures
Seizures that involve the entire brain
Tonic-clonic seizure
A type of generalized seizure whose primary behavioral symptoms are loss of consciousness, loss of equilibrium, and a tonic-clonic convulsion—a convulsion involving both tonus and clonus
Hypoxia
Shortage of oxygen supply to tissue—for example, to the brain
Absence seizure
A type of generalized seizure whose primary behavioral symptom is a disruption of consciousness associated with a cessation of ongoing behavior, a vacant look, and sometimes fluttering eyelids
3-per-second spike-and-wave discharge
The characteristic EEG pattern of the absence seizure
Retrograde degeneration
Degeneration of the proximal segment of a cut axon
Proximal segment
The segment of a cut axon between the cut and the cell body
Transneuronal degeneration
Degeneration of a neuron caused by damage to another neuron to which it is linked by a synapse
Neural regeneration
The regrowth of damaged neurons
Schwann cells
The glial cells that compose the myelin sheaths of PNS axons and promote the regeneration of PNS axons
Oligodendroglia
Glial cells that myelinate central nervous system axons; also known as oligodendrocytes
Collateral sprouting
The growth of axon branches from mature neurons, usually to postsynaptic sites abandoned by adjacent axons that have degenerated
Enriched environments
Laboratory environments designed to promote cognitive and physical activity by providing opportunities for a greater variety of sensory and motor experiences than available in conventional laboratory environments; commonly used to study the effects of experience on development in rats and mice
Phantom limb
Phenomenon wherein amputees still perceive the presence of their missing limb
