Neuromuscular: Foundational Definitions

Question 1

Agnosia

Answer 1

Inability to recognize familiar objects with one form of sensation (i.e visual)

Question 2

Akinesia

Answer 2

Inability to initiate movement

Associated typically with Parkinson’s

Question 3

Aphasia

Answer 3

Disturbance of language that results in errors of word choice, comprehension or syntax

Question 4

Aphasia: Expressive, non-fluent, motor, or Broca’s

Answer 4

Severe difficulty with verbal expression
Impairment to object naming and writing abilities
Often associated with right hemiplegia

Question 5

Aphasia: Global

Answer 5

Most severe form of aphasia
Characterized by reduced speech and comprehension
Characterized by reading and writing impairment
Associated with blockage to the main stem of the MCA

Question 6

Aphasia: Receptive, fluent, or Wernicke’s

Answer 6

Severe disturbance in auditory comprehension

Reading, writing and word recognition are impaired

Question 7

Aphasia: Conduction or associative

Answer 7

Patient struggle to repeat phrases and find words

Characterized by damage to the arcuate fasciculus (fibers that connect Broca’s and Wernicke’s area)

Question 8

Apraxia

Answer 8

Inability to perform movements previously learned even though there is no loss of strength, coordination, sensation, or comprehension.

Question 9

Apraxia: Ideational

Answer 9

Person no longer gets the idea of how to perform a routine task like hand washing

Question 10

Apraxia: Ideomotor

Answer 10

Person can not due a task on demand but can do it spontaneously.

Question 11

Astereognosis

Answer 11

Inability to recognize objects by touch alone

Question 12

Asynergia

Answer 12

Inability to move muscles together in a coordinated manner

Question 13

Ataxia

Answer 13

Uncoordinated movement, especially gait

Question 14

Athetosis

Answer 14

Slow, involuntary, worm like, twisting motions, Usually seen in forms of cerberal palsy.

Question 15

Causalgia

Answer 15

Burning sensations, which are painful.

Associated with CRPS type I.

Question 16

Chorea

Answer 16

Rapid, involuntary, jerky movements.

Associated with Huntington’s

Question 17

Clonus

Answer 17

A rhythmic involuntary oscillation of a muscle and joint in response to sudden stretch.

Question 18

Decerebrate Rigidity

Answer 18

Involuntary contraction of the extensor muscles of the upper and lower extremity.
Results from injury in the brainstem above the vestibular nucleus and below the red nucleus

Question 19

Decorticate Rigidity

Answer 19

Contraction of the flexor muscles of the upper extremity with contraction of the extensor muscles of the lower
Results from damage to the motor tracts above the red nucleus.

Question 20

Delirium

Answer 20

Temporary confusion and loss of mental function
Results from illness, drug toxicity, or lack of oxygen
Reversible

Question 21

Dementia

Answer 21

Loss of memory due to degeneration of the CNS in the brain.

Slow progressive and non reversible.

Question 22

Disdiadochokinesia

Answer 22

Impaired ability to perform rapid alternating movements

Often associated with cerebellar disorders

Question 23

Dysmetria

Answer 23

Inability to judge distances

Often associated with cerebellar dysfunction

Question 24

Electromyography

Answer 24

Used to assess alpha motor neuron integrity

Question 25

Glove and Stocking Anesthesia

Answer 25

Distal nerves degenerate resulting in anesthesia of the distal extremities in a glove or stocking pattern
Often associated with generalized poly neuropathies

Question 26

Herpes Zoster

Answer 26

Painful inflammation of the posterior root ganglion

Question 27

Horner’s Syndrome

Answer 27

Dropping of the eyelid
Constriction of the pupil
Lack of sweating of the ipsilateral face
Occurs secondary to damage of the sympathetic tract (cervical or brainstem)

Question 28

Hypermetria

Answer 28

Patients moving past a particular point (overshoot)

Associated with cerebellar dysfunction

Question 29

Nerve Conduction Studies

Answer 29

Determines the speed and amplitude of an action potential along a nerve or muscle fiber.
If the nerve is compressed actions potential will be diminished
Helps to determine if damage has taken place to the myelin or axons of the peripheral nerve.

Question 30

Nystagmus

Answer 30

Involuntary movement in a horizontal, vertical, or rotational direction
Associated with vestibular, visual, and cerebellar didsorders

Question 31

Somatagnosia

Answer 31

A lack of awareness of the relationship of one’s own body parts or the body parts of others

Question 32

Visual Acuity

Answer 32

Sharpness of vision that decreases

Question 33

Visual Field Deficits

Answer 33

Different types depending on lesion location.

Question 34

Homonymous Hemianopsia

Answer 34

A deficit to either the right or left halves of the visual field caused by damage to the contralateral optic tract.

Question 35

Bitemporal Hemianopsia

Answer 35

A deficit of the temporal or peripheral visual fields caused by injury at the optic chiasm
Also known as tunnel vision.

Question 36

Monocular Blindness

Answer 36

Result of damage to the optic nerve