Neuroscience Final Flashcards
CNS
sympotms
-Numbness or weakness if the face, arm or leg (usually one side of body)
- Confusion
- Trouble speaking
- Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
- Trouble walking
- Dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
- Severe headache
- Seizures
- Nausea and vomiting
- Falls
structures
- Cerebral vessels
- Brain tissue
- Internal carotid arteries
- Vertebral arteries
- Basilar arteries
- Basal ganglia
- Brainstem
- Circle of Willis
assessment
Imaging tests (MRI or CT)
- Medical history
- Physical exam
Cerebrovascular Accident (CVA)
CNS
Symptoms
-Lack of inhibition
-Headache
-Seizures
-Blurred vision
-Unequal pupil size
-Clear fluids drain from nose or ears
-Nausea or vomiting
-Slurred speech, weakness of arms, legs, face, or loss of balance
Structures
-Corpus callosum
-Frontal lobe
-Cerebral cortex
-Cerebellum
-Brainstem
-Basal ganglia
-Diencephalon
-Hippocampus
Assessment
-CT scan
-Medical exam
-Neurological exam
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
CNS
Symptoms
- Diminished vision (main symptom)
- Trouble distinguishing colors, or noticing colors aren’t as vibrant as usual
- Vision appears blurry – mainly after body temperature rose (ex: working out or a hot shower)
- Inability to see out of one eye
- Abnormal reaction of the pupil when exposed to bright light
- pain in the eye especially when you move it
- Often associated with MS but idiopathic
Structures
-Optic chiasm
-intracranial optic nerve
-Optic tracts
Assessment
-MRI
-Visual field exam
-CT scan
Optic Neuritis
PNS
Symptoms
-Vertigo
- Balance deficits
- Elicited by change of head position
- Suden onset
Structures
-Caused by the displacement of otoconia from the macula (otolith) into a semicircular canal
*Most commonly posterior semicircular canal
- Abnormal flow of endolymph which bends cupula
- Vestibular nerve is stimulated
Assessment
-Rapid change of head position resulting in vertigo and nystagmus. Will subside in less than 2 minutes
- CRM
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo
CNS
Symptoms
-Increasing muscle and joint weakness
-Joint and muscle pain
-Easily Fatigue
-Breathing or swallowing problems
-Denervation/reinnervation of muscle fibers
- Losing muscle tissue (atrophy)
- Decreased tolerance of cold temperatures
- Sleep related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea
Structures
-Lower motor neurons
-Axonal branches
-Distal branches
-Muscle fibers
Assessment
-Manual muscle tests
-EMG testing
Postpolio Syndrome
Both CNS & PNS
Symptoms
- Muscle cramps involving distal legs
- Slow, progressive weakness and atrophy of the distal muscle groups of one upper extremity
- Muscle weakness
- Advanced stages – muscles of the palate, pharynx, tongue, neck, and shoulders are affected
Structures
-Cerebral cortex
- Lower motor neurons of ventral horn of spinal cord
Assessment
-Neurological exam
-Blood and urine tests
-Spinal tap
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
CNS
Symptoms
-Hypertonicity
- Cogwheel rigidity
- Bradykinesia
- Masklike face
- Tremors at rest
- Cunctation-festinating gait
- Loss of arm swing while walking
- Impaired postural reflexes
- Micrographia (handwriting small)
Structures
- Nigrostriatal pathway between the substantia nigra and the basal ganglia
- Dopamine – neurotransmitter that uses the pathway
- Cell death of dopaminergic neurons of substantia nigra
Assessment
-Physical exam
-MRI
-Dopamine transporter scan (DaT Scan)
Parkinson’s
CNS
Symptoms
-Dysarthria?
-loss of muscle
-Abnormal walking
-Involuntary movements
-Muscle spasms
-Lack of coordination
-Confusion
-Difficulty speaking
-Tremor
-Weight loss
Structures
-Basal ganglia
-Caudate nucleus
-Cortex
-Striatum
-Globus pallidus
-GABA (neurotransmitter)
-Nigrostriatal pathway
-Nerve cells
Assessment
-Blood tests
-Genetic testing
-CT
-MRI
Huntington’s
CNS
Symptoms
-low back and lower limb pain
-Difficulty walking
-Excessive lordosis
-scoliosis
-Bowel/bladder problems
-Foot deformities
-Weakness
-Paresis
-Can be associated with spina bifida occulta
Structures
-Vertebral column
-Spinal cord
-Cauda equina
-L4, L5, or S1 level
Assessment
-MRI
Tethered Cord Syndrome
CNS
Symptoms
-ipsilateral loss of motor control and spasticity below lesion level
-ipsilateral flaccidity at lesion level
-ipsilateral loss of discriminative touch, pressure, vibration, and proprioception
-loss of pain and temperature sensation on contralateral side below lesion
-bilateral loss of pain and temperature sensation at the lesion level
-Hemisection of the cord
Structures
-lateral corticospinal tract
-dorsal column
-caudal medulla
-spinothalamic tract
Assessment
-Physical exam
-Neurological exam
-Medical history
-MRI
-CT
-Blood test
-Spinal tap
Brown Sequard Syndrome + SCI
