Neurology Flashcards
Functions of the Frontal Lobe?
Personality
Motor function
Motor speech
Morals
Judgment
Emotions
Impulsivity
The frontal lobes are important for voluntary movement, expressive language and for managing higher level executive functions. Executive functions refer to a collection of cognitive skills including the capacity to plan, organize, initiate, self-monitor and control one’s responses in order to achieve a goal.
Functions of Parietal Lobe:
Sensation
Pain Interpretation
Temperature (may also have hypothalamic injury as well)
Pressure
Vital for sensory perception and integration, including the management of taste, hearing, sight, touch, and smell. It is home to the brain’s primary somatic sensory cortex, a region where the brain interprets input from other areas of the body.
Functions of Temporal Lobe:
Auditory and Speech.
Associated with processing auditory information and with the encoding of memory. The temporal lobes are also believed to play an important role in processing affect/emotions, language, and certain aspects of visual perception.
Functions of Occipital Lobe:
Vision.
Responsible for visual perception, including color, form and motion.
Functions of Cerebellum:
Coordination of muscle movement and tone
Balance
Equilibrium
A vital component in the human brain as it plays a role in motor movement regulation and balance control. The cerebellum coordinates gait and maintains posture, controls muscle tone and voluntary muscle activity but is unable to initiate muscle contraction.
Functions of Brain Stem:
Messages between the brain and the body.
Breathing
Heart rate
BP
Swallowing
Awake/Asleep
Responsible for regulating most of the body’s automatic functions that are essential for life.
How many ventricles are in the brain?
Purpose?
4 ventricles
– 2 lateral
– 3rd ventricle connects the 2 lateral to the 4th.
Job is to circulate CSF, cushions and protects the brain and spinal cord.
We produce ~500 mLs of CSF per day.
It’s produced mainly by the choroid plexus epithelium and ependymal cells of the ventricles and flows into interconnecting chambers.
Cerebrospinal fluid is a clear, colorless ultrafiltrate of plasma with low protein content and few cells; large amount of NaCl (can taste salt w/leak)
What is the Foramen of Monro?
Conduit of CSF flow from the lateral ventricles to the third ventricle. This deep structure becomes clinically significant when obstructed as this leads to obstructive hydrocephalus.
What concerns do we have for a GCS of 8?
Airway, breathing, cerebral edema
GCS 8 = Intubate
Having your neuor pt say, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” will help you assess what?
Speech deficits
The stroke occurs in which hemisphere (left or right) with these signs/symptoms?
- Responds well to verbal cues
- Can understand language
- Rambling speech
- Difficulty starting a conversation
- Alteration in cognition (thinking)
- Issues w/problem solving
- Left sided motor symptoms
Right cerebral hemisphere
The stroke occurs in which hemisphere (left or right) with these signs/symptoms?
- Aphasia
- Dyslexia
- Acalculia
- Right and left disorientation
- May respond well to pictures
- Memory loss
- Emotionally labile
Left cerebral hemisphere
APHASIA:
Expressive - inability to express verbally in an understandable manner
Receptive (Wernicke’s) - inability to understand spoken words; unable to understand what you’re saying nor be able to communicate back. CAN understand non-verbal language (gestures, drawings, writing?).
ACALCULIA (vs DYSCALCULIA)
Inability to calculate simple math
- Acalculia is d/t neurological injury later in life
- Dyscalculia is a developmental disorder.
To what portion of the head/face do the internal carotids supply?
Anterior portion of the cerebrum.
To what portion of the head/face do the external carotids supply?
Face and scalp.
To what portion of the head/face do the vertebrobasilar arteries supply?
Posterior 2/5 of the cerebrum, part of the cerebellum & brain stem.
The vertebrobasilar arteries supply oxygen and glucose to the parts of the brain responsible for consciousness, vision, coordination, balance and many other essential functions.
