Mental Status Exam Flashcards
Which brain structure is responsible for mental status?
cerebrum
Which structure is responsible for higher mental function, perception, and behavior?
cerebral cortex
Which structure is responsible for speech?
frontal lobe - motor cortex - brocas area
Which structure is responsible for goal-oriented behavior and short-term memory?
frontal lobe
Which structure is responsible for processing sensory data?
parietal lob
Which structure is responsible for perception and interpretation of sounds, long-term memory, and emotion?
temporal lobe - wernickes
Which structure is responsible for love, anger, fear, affection?
limbic system + frontal lobe
Which structure is responsible for wakefulness and arousal?
Reticular activating system RAS in brainstem
Damage to which structure can result in altered mental status
RAS
Infant brain development
brain cells all present at birth, but myelination occurs over the first several years
Children brains
development of intellectual maturity
Aging
minimal decline in daily function and cognition, some memory loss and delayed timing response, diminished ability to learn complex info.
Mini Mental State Exam
Remember and repeat three unrelated words, draw face of clock, and recall of three words
apraxia
inability to translate a intention into an action
dysphonia
disorder of voice quality, pitch, or volume (laryngeal dysfunction)
dysarthria
motor speech disorder
Broca aphasia
comprehends words but impaired speech and writing
Wernicke aphasia
fluent speech, but cannot understand words spoken to them, impaired reading and writing
global aphasia
impaired speech and impaired ability to understand words spoken to them
Glasgow Coma Scale
to quantify consciousness; eye opening scored 1 - 4, verbal response 1- 5, motor response 1 -6
Decorticate
flexion as a result to pain (3 on GCS)
Decerebrate
extension as a result to pain (2 on GCS)
a whiny, high-pitched cry or catlike screeching
CNS deficit in baby
Delirium vs Dementia
Delirium : sudden onset, lasts for hours or days, impaired memory and consciousness, mood swings, potentially reversible, caused by infections, disorders, drugs; Dementia: gradual, relentless, minimal cognitive impairment, progressive, structural disease
Altered mental status
trauma
disorders of mood
neurochemical imbalance
autism
pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder
