Neuro Flashcards
Delirium
acute disorientation, inattentive, incoherent, impaired recent memory, agitated, hallucinating
Dysphagia
inability to safely swallow (high risk of aspiration)
Dysphonia
abnormal voice pitch, volume, hoarseness or whispered
Dysarthria
distorted and unintelligible pronunciation yet appropriate word choice, grammar, comprehension
Dysphasia
receptive/expressive/global language disturbance
Aphasia
receptive/expressive/global loss of language
Respective aphasia
when someone is able to speak well and use long sentences, but what they say may not make sense. They may not know that what they’re saying is wrong, so may get frustrated when people don’t understand them. The features of Wernicke’s aphasia are: Impaired reading and writing.
Expressive aphasia
Broca aphasia (unable to speak)
Global aphasia
Receptive and Expressive aphasia
They may only be able to produce a handful of words but they can’t read and write
Most common cause: stroke
Bradykinesia
slow voluntary movement
Paresthesia
abnormal sensation usually felt worse distally (in hands/feet)
burning, prickling, tingling, numbness, skin crawling, or itching)
caused by peripheral neuropathy
Paresis
weakness of muscles
Paralysis
loss of motor function
Hemiplegia
paralysis of one side of the body (right or left)
Paraplegia
paralysis of both lower extremities
Quadriplegia
Complete loss of muscle tone and paralysis of all four extremities
Flaccidity
hypotonia, muscle feels limp, soft, flabby
Spasticity
hypertonia, resistance to passive extension
clasp-knife rigidity
resistance that may suddenly give way
lead-pipe rigidity
constant resistance to passive movement
Cogwheel rigidity
resistance is released by degrees during passive extension
Abnormal posturing:
Decorticate rigidity
indicates hemispheric lesion of cerebral cortex
flexion of upper extremities, adduction of arm tightly against thorax
Extension, internal rotation, & plantar flexion of lower extremities
Fasciculations
rapid continuous twitching of resting muscle or part of muscle without movement of limb (seen by examiner or felt by patient)
Myoclonus
Single sudden jerky movement of body (normal when falling asleep)
Regularly repeating jerks (hiccups)
Severe: associated with grand mal (tonic-clonic) seizure
Chorea
jerky, involuntary, purposeless, nonrepetitive, movements (limbs, trunk, neck, face)
Tic
involuntary, compulsive, repetitive twitching of muscle groups (wink, grimace, head movement, shoulder shrug)
Tremor
contraction of opposing muscle groups, rhythmic movement of joints
rest tremor
when muscles are at rest & supported against gravity, ”pill-rolling tremor”, improves with voluntary movement
intention tremor
worse with voluntary movements
Positive Colonus means:
repetitive movement (ankle tremor) caused by action of examiner (rapid dorsiflexion)
The nervous system consists of
Central (Brain and spinal cord) and Peripheral (outside the brain and spinal cord)
Protection of the CNS
Cranium
Vertebra
Meninges
Epidural Space
Dura Mater
Arachnoid Layer
Subarachnoid space - CSF
Pia MaterCerebrum consists of
2 hemispheres and 4 lobes
Four Lobes
Frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal
Frontal
personality, behavior, emotions, intellectual function
Parietal
sensation
Temporal
auditory center
Wernicke’s area
language comprehension
Broca’s area
language expression
Cerebral cortex
Outer layer or the “gray matter”
Responsible for:
thoughts, memory, reasoning, sensation, voluntary movements
Cross representation
left cortex is associated with right side of the body and right cortex with left side of the body
Basal Ganglia
Gray matter deep within the two hemispheres
Extrapyramidal system
Initiate and coordinate automatic associated movements (arm swing with walking)
Thalamus
Main relay station of sensory pathway
Emotions, creativity
Hypothalamus
Resp, temp, appetite, sex, HR, BP, sleep, pituitary, ANS
Cerebellum
Under occipital lobe
Coordination of voluntary movements, equilibrium, muscle tone
Brain stem
Mostly nerve fibers
CN III to XII
Consists of midbrain, pons, medulla
Motor neuron tracks (ascending/descending)
Spinal cord
Long cylindric structure
Occupies 2/3 of the vertebral canal from medulla to L2
Ascending and descending fiber tracts
Spinal Reflex Arc Centers
Peripheral nervous system functions and reflexes
Functions
Sensory (Afferent) pathway
Motor (Efferent) pathway
Reflexes
Defense mechanisms
Involuntary
quick reaction to potential dangers, balance, and muscle tone
Three types
1- stretch (myotatic) such as deep tendon reflexes (DTR)
2- superficial (cutaneous) such as plantar reflex
3- visceral (organic) pupillary response to light
Where do afferent fibers enter through ?
Posterior dorsal roots
Where do Efferent fibers exit through?
ventral roots
Dermatome
particular skin areas innervated by each nerve
Autonomic nervous system manages
smooth muscles
Heart
glands
Afferent and Efferent pathways
Sympathetic and parasympathetic
