Neuro Terminology Flashcards
Athetosis
slow, twisting, and writhing movements that are large in amplitude.
Seen in face, tongue, trunk, and extremiteis
common finding in several forms of CP secondary to basal ganglia pathology
Peripheral movements occur without central stability
Chorea
hyperkinesia with brief, irregular contractions that are rapid
secondary to damage to caudate nucleus (basal ganglia)
“fidgeting”
Huntington’s
Ballismus
form of chorea. flailing movements of limbs secondary to damage of the subthalamic nucleus
Dystonia
sustained m contractions
causes twisting, abnormal postures, and repetitive movements
Common diagnosis: Parkinson’s disease, CP, encephalitis
Tics
sudden, brief, repetitive coordinated movements. Tourette syndrome
Tremors
involuntary, rhythmic, oscillaotry movements
3 types:
- Resting (pill rolling - Parkinson’s)
- Postural (hyperthyroidism, fatigue or anxiety, or beneign essential tremor)
- Intentional aka kinetic (MS) likely indicated lesion in cerebellum
Akinesia
The inability to initiate movement; commonly seen in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Ataxia
The inability to perform coordinated movements.
Typically seen with damage from cerebellum 
Asthenia
Generalized weakness, typically secondary to cerebellum pathology
Bradykinesia
Movement that is very slow.
Clasp-knife response:
A form of resistance seen during range of motion of a hypertonic joint where there is greatest resistance at the initiation of range that lessens with movement through the range of motion.
Seen is UMN lesion
Clonus
involuntary alternating spasmodic contraction of a muscle precipitated by a quick stretch reflex.
A characteristic of an upper motor neuron lesion;
Cogwheel rigidity
A form of rigidity where resistance to movement has a phasic quality to it; often seen with Parkinson’s disease.
Dysdiadochokinesia
The inability to perform rapidly alternating movements.
inappropriate timing of muscle firing and difficulty with cessation of ongoing movement. Common tests for dysdiadochokinesia include rapid supination and pronation of the forearms, alternating finger to nose, and altering the speed and direction of walking
From cerebellar pathology I believe
Dysmetria
The inability to control the range of a movement and the force of muscular activity.
Fasciculation
A muscular twitch that is caused by random discharge of a lower motor neuron and its muscle fibers;
lower motor neuron disease,
But… can be benign.
Hemiballism
An involuntary and violent movement of a large body part.
Kinesthesia
The ability to perceive the direction and extent of movement of a joint or body part.
Lead pipe rigidity
A form of rigidity where there is uniform and constant resistance to range of motion; often associated with lesions of the basal ganglia.
Rigidity
A state of severe hypertonicity where a sustained muscle contraction does not allow for any movement at a specified joint.
Adam’s closed loop theory
So using old movement patterns to compare to current movements
Giles - The first attempt at the creation of a comprehensive motor learning theory with the premise of sensory feedback as an ongoing process for the nervous system to compare current movement with stored information on memory of past movement;
high emphasis on the concept of practice.
Schmidt’s schema theory
This theory was created in response to the limitations of the closed loop theory. Its main construct relies on open loop control processes and a motor program concept; promotes clinical value of feedback and importance of variation with practice.
Cognitive Stage of motor learning
This is the initial stage of learning where there is a high concentration of conscious processing of information.
The person will acquire information regarding the goal of the activity and begin to problem solve as to how to attain the goal. A controlled environment is ideal for learning during this stage and participation is a must for the person to progress.
Characterized by:
* large amount of errors
* inconsistent attempts
* repetition of effort allows for improvement in strategies
* inconsistent performance
* high degree of cognitive work: listening, observing, and processing feedback
Associative Stage of motor learning
This is the intermediate stage of learning where a person is able to more independently distinguish correct versus incorrect performance.
The person is linking the feedback that has been received with the movement that has been performed and the ultimate goal.
A controlled environment is helpful but at this stage, the person can progress to a less structured or more open environment.
Avoid excessive external feedback as the person should have improved internal or proprioceptive feedback for the task at hand.
Characterized by:
* decreased errors with new skill performance
* decreased need for concentration and cognition regarding the activity
* skill refinement
* increased coordination of movement
* large amount of practice yields refinement of the motor program surrounding the activity
Autonomous Stage
This is the final stage of learning or skilled learning where a person improves the efficiency of the activity without a great need for cognitive control.
The person can also perform the task with interference from a variable environment
Characterized by:
* automatic response
* mainly error-free regardless of environment
* patterns of movement are non-cognitive and automatic
* distraction does not impact the activity
* the person can simultaneously perform more than one task if needed
* extrinsic feedback should be very limited or should not be provided
* internal feedback or self-assessment should be dominant
Purpose of feedback with motor learning
- feedback is imperative for the progression of motor learning.
- A patient will rely on both intrinsic and extrinsic feedback as it relates to movement.
- Feedback allows for correction and adaptation within the environment.
- Current research supports reducing the extrinsic feedback (fading of feedback) in order to ultimately enhance learning.
Intrinsic Feedback
feedback from themselves
represents all feedback that comes to the person through sensory systems as a result of the movement including visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, and somatosensory inputs.
Extrinsic (augmented) feedback
feedback from others
represents the information that can be provided while a task or movement is in progress or subsequent to the movement. This is typically in the form of verbal feedback or manual contacts.
Knowledge of results
is an important form of extrinsic feedback and includes terminal feedback regarding the outcome of a movement that has been performed in relation to the movement’s goals.
Knowledge of performance
is extrinsic feedback that relates to the actual movement pattern that someone used to achieve their goal of movement.
Practice
Practice refers to repeated performance of an activity in order to learn or perfect a skill. Physical practice allows for direct physical experience and kinesthetic stimulation to assist with acquisition of the skill. Mental practice is the cognitive rehearsal of a task or experience without any physical movement.
Massed practice
The practice time in a trial is greater than the amount of rest between trials.
Distributed practice
The amount of rest time between trials is equal to or is greater than the amount of practice time for each trial.
Constant practice
Practice of a given task under a uniform condition.
Variable practice:
Practice of a given task under differing conditions.
Random practice
Varying practice amongst different tasks.
Blocked practice
Consistent practice of a single task.
Whole training
Practice of an entire task.
Part training
Practice of an individual component or selected components of a task.
Closed system model
Nervous system is constantly responding to the information around it.
This is characterized by transfer of information that incorporates multiple feedback loops and larger distribution of control. In this model, the nervous system is seen as an active “participant with the ability to enable the initiation of movement as opposed to solely “reacting” to stimuli.
Compensation
The ability to utilize alternate motor and sensory strategies due to an impairment that limits the normal completion of a task.
Habituation
The decrease in response that will occur as a result of consistent exposure to non-painful stimuli.
What is learning?
The process of acquiring knowledge about the world that leads to a relatively permanent change in a person’s capability to perform a skilled action.
Different types of learning
- Non-associative: a single repeated stimulus (habituation, sensitization)
- Associative: gaining understanding of the relationship between two stimuli, causal relationships or stimulus and consequence (classical conditioning, operant conditioning)
- Procedural: learning tasks that can be performed without attention or concentration to the task; a task is learned by forming movement habits (developing a habit through repetitive practice)
- Declarative: requires attention, awareness, and reflection in order to attain knowledge that can be consciously recalled (mental practice)
Motor learning
The ability to perform a movement as a result of internal processes that interact with the environment and produce a consistent strategy to generate the correct movement. It is the acquisition of, or modification of movement.
Motor program
A concept of a central motor pattern that can be activated by sensory stimuli or central processes. Motor programs are seen as containing the rules for creating spatial and temporal patterns of motor activity needed to carry out a given motor task.
Open system model
This is characterized by a single transfer of information without any feedback loop (reflexive hierarchical theory). In this theory, the nervous system is seen as awaiting stimuli in order to react.
Performance
A temporary change in motor behavior seen during a particular session of practice that is a result of many variables, however, only one variable is focusing on the act of learning.
Performance is not an absolute measure of learning since there are multiple variables that potentially affect performance.
Plasticity
The ability to modify or change at the synapse level either temporarily or permanently in order to perform a particular function
Postural control
The ability of the motor and sensory systems to stabilize position and control movement.
Recovery
The ability to utilize previous strategies to return to the same level of functioning.
Sensitization
The increase in response that will occur as a result of a noxious stimulus.
Strategy
A plan used to produce a specific result or outcome that will influence the structure or system.
Agnosia
- The inability to recognize and interpret incoming sensory information when the sensory pathways are intact.
- Typically, when one form of agnosia exists and does not allow the patient to identify an object, alternate sensory modalities function to compensate and allow the patient to identify the object.
Agraphesthesia
The inability to recognize symbols, letters or numbers traced on the skin.
Agraphia
The inability to write due to a lesion within the brain and is typically found in combination with aphasia.
Alexia
The inability to read or comprehend written language secondary to a lesion within the dominant lobe of the brain.
Anosognosia
The denial or unawareness of one’s illness; often associated with unilateral neglect.
Aphasia
The inability to communicate or comprehend due to damage to specific areas of the brain.
Acquired neurological impairment of the processing of receptive and/or expressive language.
Apraxia
- The inability to perform purposeful learned movements or activities even though there is no sensory or motor impairment that would hinder completion of the task.
- Damage to the prelateral forntal cortex and somatosensory association cortex.
Astereognosis
The inability to recognize objects by sense of touch.