Class 15 - Dysexecutive syndromes Flashcards
Who is Phineas Gage
He had a railroad spike through his frontal lobe. And then he became an asshole
Where do you damage when you lose fine movements, speed and strength?
Primary motor cortex
Where do you damage when you lose movement programming?
Premotor or dorsolateral cortex
Where do you damage when you have changes in voluntary gaze?
Frontal eye fields
What is corollary discharge or reafference? Is it frontal lobe mediated?
When a movement is about to occur, there is an internal neural signal that movement will occur. Yes
Where do you damage when you have mutism?
Supplementary motor cortex
Where do you damage when you have agrammatism?
Broca’s area
What is convergent thinking?
When there is only one answer to the question
What is divergent thinking?
Questions that ask for a variety of responses
What indicates a loss of behavioral spontaneity
Decreased verbal fluency, decreased design fluency, reduction in general behaviors
A deficit in what type of function can result in: increased perserveration (cannot shift), inability to plan, loss of response inhibition?
Executive function deficit
what types of memory are poor in executive function deficit patients?
Temporal and working memory
What is pseudodepression?
Apathy, loss of initiative, reduced sexual interest, little or no verbal output
What is pseudopsychopathy?
Immature behavior, lack of restraint, promiscuous sexual behavior, lack of social graces
What circuit is damaged in dysexecutive syndrome?
Dorsolateral circuit
What circuit is damaged in pseudodepression (apathy)?
Ventromedial anterior cingulate circuit
What circuit is damaged in pseudopsychopathy (impulsivity)?
Orbitofrontal circuit
What frontal lobe changes cause schizophrenia?
Decrease blood flow to the frontal lobes, frontal lobe atrophy. Also abnormal mesocortical dopaminergic projections
What frontal lobe changes cause Parkinson’s disease?
Loss of dopamine cells in the substantia nigra that project to the prefrontal cortex
What frontal lobe changes result in Korsakoff’s syndrome?
A deficiency of frontal lobe catecholamines and damage to the dorsomedial thalamus
What are the three variants of frontotemporal dementia?
Behavioral, primary progressive aphasia, movement disorders (corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy)
What are three changes in Lewy body dementia?
Changes in movement (Parkinsonian), behavior (fluctuating alertness, psychosis), cognitive ability