Mental status Flashcards
What do we assess during mental status screening?
- Take a thorough history
- Observe physical appearance and behavior
- Investigate cognitive functioning
- Observe speech and language
- Evaluate emotional stability
Why do PTs assess mental status?
- Design best plan of care
- Safety
- Assist in writing proper goals
- Pt may need to be referred
When is mental status assessed?
- When the patient enters the office
- During physical examination
- During interventions/treatment
Area responsible for: Motor cortex (speech formation, Broca’s area [expressive aphasia]), Decision making, Problem solving, Ability to concentrate, Short term memory, Awareness of self
Goal-oriented behaviors and drive, Emotions and affect
Frontal lobe of cerebrum
Area responsible for Receiving and processing sensory information
parietal lobe
Area responsible for: Perception and interpretation of sounds, Comprehension of spoken and written language (Wernicke’s area [receptive aphasia]), Integration of behavior, emotion, and personality, Long-term memory
Temorpal lobe
Mediates patterns of behavior for survival:
- Mating
- Fear
- Aggression
- Affection
Limbic system
Area responsible for: Reticular activating system - Important for consciousness
Brainstem
What does the NS look like in infants and children?
- All neurons present, but not all connections made
- Full myelination takes several years
- Nervous system sensitive to insults: Infections, Trauma (shaken baby syndrome), Chemical imbalance
What does the NS look like in adolescents?
- Continued intellectual maturation
- Abstract thinking develops
- Judgment begins to develop with education, intelligence, and experience
- Develop set of values
What age should we not see decline in cognitive function before?
60
- decline before this age indicates a systemic or neurological disorder
Where do you seen declines in older adults? what tends to remain intact?
Declines:
- Problem-solving ability
- Short term memory
- Information processing or new concepts
Intact:
- Verbal skills
- Inventories of available information
- Long term memory
Level of consciousness where pt is aware of surroundings, oriented x 3 (person, place, year), and cooperative
Conscious
Level of consciousness where pt has inappropriate responses to questions, and decreased attention span and memory
Confusion
Level of consciousness where pt who is Drowsy, fall asleep easily, but once aroused, responds appropriately
Lethargy