Cognition Flashcards
what is cognition
mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience and the senses
what are the functions of the frontal lobe
Voluntary movement Reasoning Executive function Personality Inhibition Initiative Expressive language
how can the frontal lobe be tested
- verbal fluency (as many words beginning with F in 60s)
- cognitive estimates
- proverb interpretation
- perseveration
- primitive reflexes
what are the functions of the parietal lobe
Knowing right from left Reading Writing Body orientation Calculation Two point discrimination Graphaethesia
how would a dominant hemisphere parietal lobe present
Dysphasia
Dyscalculia
Dyslexia –a general term for disorders that can involve difficulty in learning to read or
interpret words, letters, and other symbols.
Apraxia – inability to perform complex movements in the presence of normal motor, sensory and cerebellar function.
Agnosia (tactile agnosia) – inability to recognize or discriminate.
Gerstmann syndrome – Characterized by acalculia, agraphia, finger anomia and difficulty in differentiation of right and left.
what would a lesion in the non-dominant hemisphere of the parietal lobe cause
Spatial disorientation
Constructional apraxia
Dressing apraxia
Anosognosia
what is the temporal lobe function
understanding speech memory hearing emotions sense of identity recognising faces
what is the occipital lobe function
primary visual reception area
where is Broca area found
frontal lobe
where is wernicke area found
temporal lobe
what is the limbic system responsible for
role in emotional experience and visceral regulation
what are components of the limbic system
Hypothalamus
Amygdala
Hippocampus and Dentate Gyrus
Cingulate gyrus
what is the function of the hippocampus
forming new memories
spatial memory
navigation
what is the role of the hypothalamus
main integrator of the autonomic and endocrine system
what is the function of the amygdala
emotions
right sided = negative emotions e.g. fear, sadness
left sided = pleasant + unpleasant emotions + reward system
what is the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease
amyloid plaques
neurofibrilliary tangles
what is the neuropathology of lewy body dementia
Alpha-synuclein proteins within the cytoplasm of neurons (Lewy Bodies)
Loss of dopamine in the substantia nigra
Loss of acetylcholine producing neurons
what are pick bodies
tau positive spherical cytoplasmic neuronal inclusions, composed of straight filaments
what are pick cells
ballooned neurons with dissolution of chromatin
what is the criteria for alcohol related dementia
Memory impairment + 1 of: Apraxia Aphasia Agnosia Disturbance in executive function Functional impairment
what is the triad of thiamine deficiency
confusion
ataxia
ophthalmoplegia (paralysis of muscle around the eye)
