neuro comps 1 Flashcards
what are the two components of mental status: basic
level of consciousness
and
orientation
level of consciousness - how do we test
able to follow commands such
as
1) eye movements/responses
2) motor responses
3) verbal responses
level of consciousness - outcome measure used
glasgow coma scale
orientation - what to ask
Ask for patient’s
1) full name, age, birthplace
2) where they are now, type of
place, city they are in
3) the date, day of week, what
time it is, season
note the response
what is the common outcome measure for orientation
MOCA
what is the purpose of the MOCA
rapid screening instrument for mild cognitive dysfunction.
mental status: complex includes
language
memory
visuospatial functions
lang is assessing what types
receptive and
expressive language
receptive lang
the paitient is asked to follow commands to see if they understand what they have just read or heard
expressive lang
pt asked to perform at task that requires spontaneous speech of writing, naming an object, or repeating phrases,
looking at the fluency and correct use of words
what outcome measure is used to look at lang
MOCA
receptive aphasia
world salad
Expressive aphasia
a condition where a person may understand speech, but they have difficulty speaking fluently themselves
Global aphasia
People with global aphasia may only say a few words, such as “no” or “hey” or “what”, or they may speak in “stereotypies”. Stereotypies are words or phrases that are said over and over with different intonation. Examples may be “ding da ding”, “I love you” or “something wonderful”.
how do we assess memory - immediate recall (STM)
repeat these three words
temporal lobe
how do we assess memory - LTM
spell WORLD backwards
count back from 100’s using 7
frontal lobe
what outcome measure do we use for memory
MoCA
visuospatial function - test
bisect a line
what causes visuospatial dysfunction
damage to the right (parietal
lobe) hemisphere
what is Hemineglect
(unilateral)
inattention to one side that is
not due to a primary sensory
or motor impairment
what are we looking at with meta cognition
executive functioning
self awareness
what is taken over by meta cognition
-Inability to divide attention
-Inability to generalize
-Decreased safety awareness
and judgment
-Poor insight to condition
-Problem-solving deficits
-Impaired executive function:
- inability to:
-prioritize or select a behavior
that is appropriate to the
situation. - inhibit inappropriate behaviors
- to maintain focus to a task
despite distractions
I- Olfactory
Each nostril separately
Have the patient report if they can smell a non-
noxious odorants
Anosmia-
loss of the sense
of smell
II-Optic - 4 tests
Visual acuity
visual fields
pupillary light reflex
accommodation (convergence)
Visual acuity
ability to discern letters or numbers at a given distance according to a fixed standard.
visual fields
Normal VF for each eye extends out from the
patient in all directions
field cut
specific regions where patient lost ability to see
pupillary light reflex
bring penlight from the side of the patient’s head
into the eye
both eyes should constrict *direct light reflex and
indirect (consensual) reflex
what is accommodation (convergence)
Comes into play when there is a need to view an object at near distances without double vision
Automatic response to adjust the position of the eye so that the image falls on the fovea of both eyes and to adjust the lens to maintain sharp focus at near distance
accommodation (convergence)
Tested by asking the patient to focus both eyes on
a target ( ~ 14-point font size)
Patient focuses on the target at arm’s length and slowly brings it to the tip of their nose
Patient is instructed to stop moving the target when they see 2 distinct images or when the examiner
observes outward deviation of one eye.
action of III
up, down, up and in