Dementia & Brain Structures

Question 1

What is the Cerebrum?

Answer 1

Complex tasks such as reading and writing, higher level thinking

Question 2

Lobes of the brain (frontal, parietal, temporal, occipital)

Answer 2

a) front lobe: personality, voluntary motor ctrl. b) parietal lobe: sensory info, understanding speech, expressing thoughts and emotions c) temporal lobe: primary auditory cortex, interpret of olfactory sensations d) occipital lobe: primary visual cortex

Question 3

Corpus Callosum

Answer 3

Connects left and right brain hemispheres, allows for cross-communication btwn 2 halves of the brain

Question 4

Thalamus

Answer 4

Recieves all info, acting as the “relay station”, processes all incoming info and conveys signals to the brain, produces sensory, motor, and behavior abnormalities if damaged

Question 5

Hypothalamus

Answer 5

Keeps you alive, ctrls food intake, water intake, BP, also secretes hormones like reproductive hormones or cortisol for stress response (endocrine system)

Question 6

Cerebellum

Answer 6

Responsible for fluid, smooth movements (balance and coordination), susceptible to alc-damage can cause ataxia (incoordination of limb movements)

Question 7

Midbrain

Answer 7

reflex center (visual and auditory reflex –> things we don’t have to think about, involuntary), midbrain –> pons –> medulla oblongata

Question 8

Pons

Answer 8

Ctrls breathing, houses the 4th ventricle

Question 9

Medulla oblongata

Answer 9

Ctrls automatic functions –> cardiac, respiratory, swallowing

Question 10

Basal ganglia

Answer 10

Start and stop movements, communicates w/ cerebrum (outer layer of the brain –the lobes), lesions in this structure are the basis in Parkinson’s Disease

Question 11

Amygdala

Answer 11

Involved in fear attachment of emotions to experiences and memories (near the basal ganglia for reference)

Question 12

Hippocampus

Answer 12

memory involvementturns short-term memory into long-term memory, located in the temporal lobe

Question 13

Dementia: Progressive development of multiple cognitive defects

Answer 13

*mem impairmment- impaired ability to learn or recall new info, loss of previously learned lang comprehension, loss of previously learned motor activity, inability to recognize or identify objects, disturbances in planning, organizing, sequencing, or abstract thought

Question 14

Dementia pathogenesis

Answer 14

Norm brain communication through neuron synapses creates a protein called amyloid Beta. If this does not get properly cleared, it can accumulate, stick tg and form plaques. these cause atrophy of the surrounding brain tissue (frontal and. temporal lobes)- loss of communication in these areas, involvement of overly phosphorylated Tau protein

Question 15

Dementia Management

Answer 15

proteins have important physiologic function so removing them will create other probs with neuron function. Pt and fam support

Question 16

Parkinson’s disease: presentation

Answer 16

resting tremor, rigidity, slow movements, instability, “i feel stiff, slow and unsteady”, asymmetry on one side of the body

Question 17

Parkinson’s Pathogenesis

Answer 17

Degeneration of neurons in the basal ganglia (start and stop movement), pt of the basal ganglia produce dopamine. A healthy balance= precise and coordinated movements

Question 18

Parkinson’s management

Answer 18

GOAL: correct dopamine deficiency, L-Dopa

Question 19

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Answer 19

Group of diseases affecting humans and animals –> “mad cow disease”

Question 20

C-J disease presentation

Answer 20

dementia-cognitive decline that so rapid that it indicates its not Alzheimers, rapid jerky movements, mood disorders, and hallucinations

Question 21

C-J Disease pathogenesis

Answer 21

Abnormal folding of prion protein (Prp0) for neuronal function. Pro –> Prpsc - mis folding of norm Prp into toxic forms which then accumulates. Can be from a familial mutation or exposure to an abnormal prp: exposure from eating infected brain tissues-kuru disease in population who perform cannibalism in pt of New guinea, neither bacteria or viral but acts infectious to the nervous system

Question 22

C-J Managment

Answer 22

Supportive care, edu regarding cultural practices involving cannibalism