Cranial nerves Flashcards
Only Cranial nerve that does NOT synapse with thalamus
Olfactory
Olfactory nerve pathway: fill in the blank
Foster-Kennedy Syndrome
- What causes it?
- Buzzword
- Key features
- Cause
- Typically frontal lobe lesion (classically optic groove meningioma; buzzword = SMO mutation)
- Features
- Ipsilateral optic nerve atrophy
- contralateral papilledema
- Ipsilateral anosmia
Pseudo Foster Kennedy syndrome
- What Causes it?
- What are the features of the disease?
- Cause
- Pre-existing optic nerve atrophy (i.e. from MS)
- Subsequent development of increased ICP
- Features
- Ipsilateral optic nerve atrophy = Yes
- Contralateral papilledema = Yes
- Anosmia = NO
Hemianopsia breakdown:
- Bitemporal hemianopsia, think ____
- Unilateral blindness, think_\_(3)___\_
- Altitudinal vison loss, think _____
- Central scotoma, ____
- Something pressing down on optic chiasm
- I.e. Pituitary tumors
- Unilateral blindness, think either opthalmologic, vascular (i.e. ischemic optic neuropathy), or autoimmune (i.e. optic neuritis)
- Altitudinal visual loss, think vascular (i.e. ischemic optic neuropathy)
- Central scotoma, think autoimmune (i.e. optic neuritis)
Visual Pathways of Brain (show left vs right)
Where are rods versus cones located in the eye?
What is the Foeva?
Rods (black and white, low-light) = Periphery
Cones (RGB) = in macula
Foeva = central part of macula with most cones
Blood supply to the eye
Types of Optic Neuropathy:
Presentation and exam findings
- AION (5)
- PION (2)
- Optic Neuritis (7)
- Leber’s optic Neuropathy (5)
- Anterior Ischemic optic neuropathy
- Acute
- painless or minimally painful
- altitudinal visual loss
- minimal recovery
- Optic disc swelling on exam
- Posterior Ischemic optic neuropathy
- Similar in presentation on exam to AION, but NO swelling on ophtho exam
- less common than AION
- optic neuritis
- subacute (hours - days)
- often not complete blindness (recovery 2-4 weeks and continues to 12 months, 2/3 pts can improve to 20/20
- centrocecal scotoma (Blind spot in center of vision)
- red desaturation (90%)
- APD
- MRI may have enhancement (rarely seen in AION/PION)
- Prolonged P100 on VEP
- Leber’s optic neuropathy
- acute - subacute (weeks-months)
- sequential in 3/4 pts (simulatneous in remaining 1/4)
- painless
- M>F (3:1-8:1)
- onset in adolescence
Types of Optic Neuropathy
Associated conditions
- AION
- PION
- Optic Neuritis
- Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (2)
- AION
- Vascular risk factors
- temporal arteritis
- PION
- vascular risk factors
- Optic Neuritis
- Most commonly associated with MS and NMO
- Leber’s hereditary optic neuopathy
- Mitochonidrial disease
- associated withWold-Parkinson-white
Types of Optic neuritis (4)
- Retrobulbar: optic nerve
- Papillitis: optic disc
- Perineuritis: optic nerve sheath (no nerve involvement)
- More common in syphilis or sarcoid
- Neruonitis: swelling of optic nerve and macula
Function of Cranial Nerve III
- Extraocular movements
- Lifts Eyelids
- Constricts pupil
- Accomodates
Path of CN III
- Emerges betwen posterior cerebral artery (PCA) and superior cerebellar artery (SCA)
- Runs adjacent to posterior communicating artery (Pcomm) just below tentorium
- Runs through lateral wall of cavernous sinus
- Exits through superior orbital fissure
Pathway for Afferent pupillary defect
Due to damage to CN III, light does not constrict pupil when shown in affected eye. However, will dilate when light is shown in opposite eye due to concentual response through cilidary ganglion still intact
Blood supply for CN III
- Intracranial supply
- perforating branches of PCA
- Posterior communicating artery
- superior cerebellar
- basilar artery
- Extra cranial (after passing through Superior orbital fissure)
- opthalmic artery
sympathetic pathway for pupillary response
Note: NOT from CN III
Extra CNS causes for Myadriasis (3)
- Tumor at apex of lung (i.e. pancoast tumor)
- Impinging at carotid bifurcation
- Carotid sinus obstruction (w/ V1)
Required feature in CN III lesion to consider compressive lesion
Pupillary defect (CN III w/o pupillary defecect is NOT consistent with compressive lesion)
Head tilt in CN IV palsy
Head tilts away from side of palsy
Pathway of CN IV (3) and other factoid (1)
- Originates dorsally, then decussates
- Runs under tentorium, to the lateral wall of cavernous sinus
- Exits through SoF
- Note: longest CN course with the least # of axons
Symptoms of CN IV palsy (4)
- Vertical dypolpia worse with down gaze and adduction
- head tilt (away from Palsy)
- bielschowsky test
- symptoms Incrase with head tilt toward the lesion
- Diminished downgase
Causes of CN IV injury (3)
NOTE: lesions are CL to affected eye
- Congential
- most common cause of chronic
- typically CN IV dysgenesis
- Trauma
- MC acquired
- Compressive
- Infectious
- autoimmune
- neoplastic
Syndromes associated with CN VI palsy
- A (5)
- B (4)
- C (6)
- D (6)
- E (1)
- Mobius Syndrome
- Bilateral CN VI injury
- inability to smile, frown, grimace, or blink (CN VII)
- micrognathia / microstomia
- +/- chest wall, limb, corneal abnormalities
- autism (1/3)
- Millard-Gubler
- Pontine lesion
- IL CN VI palsy
- IL facial weakness
- CL hemiparesis
- Foville syndrome
- Result of AICA infarct (most commonly)
- IL CN VI
- IL facial weakness
- CL hemiparesis
- CL sensory loss
- INO
- Wallenberg syndrome
- injury of lateral medulla
- IL CN V
- vertigo
- hoarseness / dysphagia
- horner syndrome
- Hemiparesis
- Balance issues
- injury of lateral medulla
- Sturge Weber
Exits of CN V and which go through cavernous sinus?
SRO
- V1 (opthalmic) - Supieror orbital Fissure
- V2 (maxillary) Foramen Rotundum
- V3 (mandibular) foramen Ovale
- Joined by motor root
V1 and V2 go through cavernous sinus, but V3 does not
Motor innervations of CN V
- Masseter (bilateral)
- temporalis (bilateral)
- tensor tympani (unilateral)
- Medial / lateral pterygoid
Innervations of CN VII
Motor (2)
autonomic (3)
Sensory (2)
- Motor movements
- IL face
- Stapedeus = decreases loud sounds
- Parasympathetic
- lacrimal
- submandibular
- sublingual
- Taste
- anterior 2/3 of tongue (tractus solitarius)
- Sensation
- Posterior surface of external ear and canal
What non-bony, non-vascular structure does CN VII pass through?
Parotid gland
Ramsay-Hunt syndrome
- What causes it?
- What other CN can be involved?
- Treatment (2)
- Zoster infection of geniculate ganlion / auditory canal vesicles
- may also cause vertigo / hearing loss (VNII run close together here
- Antivirals +/- Steroids
Blepharospasm versus hemiphacial spasm
Blepharospasm
- What is it?
- Causes (3)
Hemifacial spasm
- What causes it?
- symptoms
Blepharospasm
- Repeated involuntary contractures of obicularis oculi muscles
- Common causes
- Idiopatchic = meige syndrome
- Blepharospasm + orobmandibular dystonia
- sustained grimacing around mouth
- Platysma contracture
- sustained nec flexion
- Blepharospasm + orobmandibular dystonia
- MS
- MSA
- Idiopatchic = meige syndrome
Hemifacial spasm
- lesion near CP angle (MC)
- symptoms
- insidious onset of unilateral painless, arrhythmic, tonic or clonic spasms
Anti-hypertension medication known to cause hearing loss
Loop diuretics such as furosemide
Rinne / Weber Tests
- Rinne
- Tuning fork on mastoid, then ear
- Bone conduction > air = conductive
- Bone conduction < air = sensorineural
- Tuning fork on mastoid, then ear
- Weber
- Tuning fork in middle of calvarium
- Sound better in impaired ear = conductive
- sound better in normal ear = sensorineural
- Tuning fork in middle of calvarium
Brainstem auditory evoked potentials