Intro to Neuropsychiatry Flashcards
What are the cerebral functions of the frontal lobe?
- judgement
- reasoning
- behaviour
- voluntary movements
- expressive language (Broca’s)
What are the cerebral functions of the temporal lobe?
- emotions
- learning and memory
- audition
- olfaction
- language comprehension (Wernike’s)
What are the cerebral functions of the parietal lobe?
- spatial orientation
- perception
- initial cortical processing of tactile and proprioceptive info
- language comprehension (Wernike’s)
What are the cerebral functions of the occipital lobe?
- vision
What areas of the brain are affected by Alzheimer’s Disease and the associated signs and symptoms?
Affects temporal and parietal lobes initially
- deterioration in cognitive function (aphasia, agnosia, apraxia)
- impaired ADL and patterns of behaviour
- family history
- normal CSF and EEG
- CT showing cerebral atrophy with progression
What are the main overlapping symptoms seen in neurodegenerative disorders?
Affective: Eg. depression, anxiety
Psychotic: Eg. hallucinations, delusions
Behavioural: Eg. insomnia, hypersexuality
What are the affected areas and diagnostic criteria of LBD?
Affects limbic areas and temporal lobe initially
At least 2 of:
- fluctuating cognition and variation in attention and alertness
- recurrent visual hallucinations that are well formed and detailed
- spontaneous parkinsonism
supportive symptoms:
- repeated falls
- syncope
- transient LOC
- neuroleptic sensitivity
- systematised delusions
- hallucinations in other modalities
What are the pathological differences in LBD compared to Parkinson’s Dementia?
LBD has:
- increased atrophy
- increased cortical and LB pathologies
- higher A-beta and tau load in cortex and striatum
Describe the affected areas and symptoms of vascular dementia
Affects sub-cortical areas first
Symptoms and signs:
- personality and mood changes
- impulsivity (abulia)
- depression
- psychomotor retardation
Describe some of the signs of MS and the region of the brain it is affecting
- major depression = cortical damage
- mania = orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex (impulsivity, mood swings, personality changes)
- disconnect between mood and affect (pseudobulbar effect)
- psychosis = medial temporal
What is a functional neurological disorder?
- dysfunction of the nervous system and how the body sends and/or receives signals
- symptoms include limb weakness/paralysis, seizures, tremors, slurred speech etc.
- symtpoms are real and can fluctuate
- usually normal brain structural imaging but fMRI can show hyperconnectivity between caudate, amygdala, prefrontal and sensorimotor areas
- can be improved with physio/speech therapy to retrain movement patterns affected
