Neurobiology of Cognition Flashcards
List all the functions of the frontal lobe
Voluntary movement Reasoning Executive functioning Personality Inhibition Initiative Expressive language
What is a specific way to test verbal fluency (frontal lobe function)?
List as many words beginning with F in 60 seconds
10-15 words is normal function
What is involved in the Luria step test for frontal lobe function?
Show sequence of movements and ask patient to copy in the right order
List all the functions of the parietal lobe
Distinguish right and left Reading Writing Body orientation Calculations Two point discrimination Graphesthesia
What is graphesthesia?
Ability to recognise writing on the skin without looking (pure sensation)
List clinical features of damage to the dominant hemisphere of the parietal lobe
Dysphasia Dyscalculia Dyslexia Apraxia Agnosia
List clinical features of damage to the non-dominant hemisphere of the parietal lobe
Spatial disorientation
Constructional/dressing apraxia
List all the functions of the temporal lobe
Speech Emotion Hearing Memory Sense of identity Recognising faces
Which lobe of the brain is the primary visual reception area?
Occipital lobe
Where is Broca’s area in the brain?
Left inferolateral aspect of frontal lobe
Where is Wernicke’s area in the brain?
Left posterosuperior aspect of temporal lobe
What is Broca’s aphasia?
Non-fluent, effortful type of language that ultimately is meaningful
Slow rate of speech with limited word output
What is Wernicke’s aphasia?
Fluent, excessive type of language filled with errors that make speech non-meaningful
Nonsense vocab and grammar
Individuals with Wernicke’s aphasia understand language spoken to them. True/False?
False
Individuals with Broca’s aphasia understand language spoken to them
Which individuals typically lack insight into their disability - those which Broca’s or Wernicke’s aphasia?
Wernicke’s
Broca’s aphasia individuals are typically depressed due to awareness of their disability
List the main structures of the limbic system
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Cingulate gyrus
Hypothalamus
What is the function of the hippocampus with regards to memory?
Formation of new memories
What is the main function of the amygdala?
Involved with emotions and reward
What is the shortest type of memory?
Sensory memory
What are the 2 main neurotransmitters involved in memory?
Glutamate
ACh
List aspects of neurobiology involved in Alzheimer’s dementia
Neurofibrillary tangles
Amyloid plaques
State two drug classes used in the management of Alzheimer’s dementia
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (block AChE in synaptic cleft to boost cholinergic transmission) NMDA antagonist
Give an example of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor
Donepezil
Galantamine
Rivastigmine
Give an example of an NMDA antagonist
Memantine
What is the most common cause of vascular dementia?
Hypoperfusion of brain tissue e.g. in stroke
Outline the neurobiology of Lewy body dementia, what condition is it closely associated with?
Accumulation of abnormal protein ‘Lewy bodies’
Dementia in Parkinson’s disease
What type of protein is characteristic of neurodegeneration in fronto-temporal dementia? What is it also known as?
Tau protein aggregates
Pick’s disease
What is Wernicke’s encephalopathy?
Acute neurological emergency resulting from thiamine deficiency (vitamin B1) which is common in alcohol use disorders
What disease is the chronic form of Wernicke’s encephalopathy and often occurs in conjunction with it?
Korsakoff syndrome
What is the triad of symptoms present in Wernicke’s encephalopathy?
Ophthalmaplegia
Confusion
Ataxia
