PBL Topic 3 Case 5 Flashcards
Identify two types of sensory relay neurons located in the grey matter of the spinal cord
- Anterior motor neurons
- Interneurons
Identify two types of anterior motor neurons and what each type innervates
- Alpha motor neurons, which innervate the extrafusal muscle fibres
- Gamma motor neurons, which innervate intrafusal muscle fibres
What are interneurons?
- Neurons found exclusively in the CNS
- Transmit signals from the brain to anterior motor neurons
What is the function of Renshaw cells?
- Anterior motor neurons give off branches to Renshaw cells
- Which are inhibitory cells that send inhibitory signals to surrounding motor neurons (lateral inhibition)
- To sharpen or focus signals to motor neurons
What are propriospinal fibres?
- Collections of nerve fibres that run ascending/descending/crossed/uncrossed
- That interconnect all levels of the spinal cord
- Providing pathways for multisegment reflexes that co-ordinate simultaneous movements
Identify two types of muscle sensory receptors and they sensory information that they provide
- Muscle spindles, located in the belly of the muscle, providing information about muscle length or rate of change of length
- Golgi tendon organs, located in muscle tendons, providing information about tendon tension or rate of change of tension
Identify two sensory endings of a muscle spindle, what type of fibre they are and where they are positioned
- Annulospiral / Primary ending, type Ia fibre that encircles the central portion of the intrafusal fibre
- Flower Spray / Secondary ending, type II fibre that innervates both sides of the primary ending
Identify the two types of intrafusal fibres
- Nuclear bags, fibres are congregated into expanded bags in the central portion of the receptor area
- Nuclear chains, fibres are smaller and have nuclei aligned in a chain throughout the receptor area
Which intrafusal fibre(s) excite primary sensory endings of the muscle spindle
- Nuclear bag
- Nuclear chain
Which intrafusal fibre(s) excite secondary sensory endings of the muscle spindle
- Nuclear chain
What is the static response of a muscle spindle?
- Muscle spindle is stretched slowly
- Impulses increase in direct proportion to degree of stretching
- From both primary and secondary nerve endings
What is the dynamic response of a muscle spindle?
- Muscle spindle length increases suddenly
- The primary endings are stimulated but the secondary endings are not
Identify the two type of gamma motor nerves
- Gamma-dynamic nerves, which excite mainly nuclear chain intrafusal fibres
- Gamma-static nerves, which excite the nuclear chain fibres, greatly enhancing the static response
What is the difference between positive and negative signals from muscle spindles?
- Positive signals involve increased numbers of impulses to indicate stretch of a muscle
- Negative signals involve decreased numbers of impulses to indicate that the muscle is not stretched
Describe the basic circuit of the muscle spindle stretch reflex
- Type Ia nerve fibres from muscle spindle enter the dorsal root of the spinal cord
- One branch goes to anterior horn of grey matter to synapse with anterior motor neurons
- That send motor nerve fibres back to the same muscle from which the muscle spindle fibre originated
- Type II fibres on the other hand terminate on interneurons which transmit delayed signals to the anterior motor neurons
What is the damping function?
- Signals from the spinal cord are transmitted to a muscle in an unsmooth form
- The stretch reflex allows smoothening of muscle contractions
What is co-activation of motor neurons and what is its importance?
- Activation of alpha motor neurons involves simultaneous activation of gamma neurons
- So that both the extrafusal skeletal muscle fibres and the intrafusal spindle fibres contract at the same time
- It keeps the muscle spindle reflex from opposing the muscle contraction (by keeping the length of the receptor portion the same during whole muscle contraction)
- It also maintains the damping function of the spindle
The gamma efferent system is excited by signals from which area?
- Reticular formation, giving rise to reticulospinal tracts
Identify the pathways taken by the pontine and medullary reticulospinal tracts
- Pontine reticulospinal tract descends ipsilaterally in the anterior funiculus
- Medullary reticulospinal tract descends partly crossed in the lateral funiculus
Which neurons does the pontine reticulospinal tract act upon?
- Extensor motor neurons
Which neurons does the medullary reticulospinal tract act upon?
- Flexor motor neurons
What are the two kinds of motor behaviour that the reticulospinal tract is involved in?
- Locomotion
- Postural control
What is clonus and what causes clonus?
- Oscillation of a muscle jerk
- Caused by sensitisation of facilitatory impulses from the brain
When is the Golgi tendon organ stimulated?
- When the small bundle of muscle fibres is tensed by contracting or stretching of the muscle
Golgi tendon organs transmit through which type of fibres?
- Type Ib fibres
Identify two signal pathways from the Golgi tendon organ
- Via the spinocerebellar tracts and through other tracts to the cerebral cortex
- Local areas of the cord which excite inhibitory interneurons that inhibit the anterior motor neurone
What is the lengthening reaction?
- Golgi tendon is stimulated by increased tension
- Inhibitory signals to spinal cord to prevent excessive tension on the muscle
- That would otherwise causing tendon or avulsion of the tendon
What is the flexor reflex?
- Stimulation of pain nerve endings on a limb, signals enter the dorsal horn of the spinal cord
- Synapse with anterior motor neurons that send motor nerve fibres to flexor muscles
- This withdraws the limb from the painful stimulus
- With reciprocal inhibition circuits for antagonist muscles
- After discharge, which depends on the intensity of the sensory stimulus
What is the crossed extensor reflex?
- Extension of opposite limb that the flexor reflex takes place in
- To push the entire body away from the object causing the painful stimulus
- Signals from sensory nerves cross to the opposite side of the cord via interneurons to anterior motor neurons that to excite extensor muscles
- Even longer duration after discharge duration
Identify the three subareas of the motor cortex that are involved in specific motor functions
- Primary motor cortex
- Premotor area
- Supplementary motor area
Where is the primary motor cortex located?
- Precentral gyrus
- Broadmann’s area 4
Outline the topographical representations of the different muscle areas in the primary motor cortex
- Face and mouth near lateral fissure
- Arm and hand in the mid-portion (large portion)
- Trunk near the apex of the brain
- Leg and foot areas, near the longitudinal fissure
Where is the premotor area located?
- Anterior to the primary motor cortex
What is the function of the premotor area?
- Develops a motor image of complex patterns of movement associated
- Sends fibres directly to primary motor cortex or to basal ganglia and thalamus to the primary motor cortex
Where is the supplementary motor area located?
- Longitudinal fissure but extends onto superior frontal cortex
What is the role of the supplementary area?
- Bilateral stimulation
- Positional movements, fixation movements, body-wide attitudinal movements
Outline the pathway taken by the corticospinal tract
- Leaves cortex and passes through internal capsule, downward through the brainstem
- Forms the pyramids of the medulla
- Majority of fibres decussate at the pyramidal decussation and descend in lateral corticospinal tract which terminate on interneurons of cord grey matter
- Some fibres do not decussate but descend in anterior corticospinal tracts until thoracic region where they decussate and terminate on sensory relay neurons
What is the anterior corticospinal tract concerned with?
- Bilateral postural movements
- By supplementary motor cortex
Fibres of the corticospinal tract originate from which cell type?
- Betz cell, a giant pyramidal cell
- Found primarily in the primary motor cortex
What is the role of the corticobulbar tract and how are its fibres activated?
- Activate motor cranial nerve nuclei
- Mainly those of the face, jaw and tongue
- Activated by corticospinal tract
Where is the red nucleus located?
- Mesencephalon
Where does the red nucleus receive fibres from?
- Directly from corticorubral tract through the mesencephalon
- Indirectly from branching fibres from the corticospinal tract
Which tract arises from the red nucleus? Outline its course
- Rubrospinal tract
- Decussates in the lower brainstem
- Follows the same course as corticospinal tract to terminate on interneurons or anterior motor neurons
Identify three incoming fibre pathways to the motor cortex
- Somatosensory cortex
- Frontal cortex anterior to motor cortex
- Visual and auditory cortices
What is the tectospinal tract?
- Crossed descending pathway
- From tectum to anterior grey horn at cervical and upper thoracic regions
- Orientation of head in response to visual (superior colliculus) and auditory (inferior colliculus) stimulation
What is the vestibulospinal tract?
- Uncrossed descending pathway
- From vestibular nucleus to appropriate antigravity muscles when the head is tilted to one side
- To keep centre of gravity between the feet.
What is the raphespinal tract?
- Descending pathway within tract of Lissauer
- From raphe nucleus in medulla oblongata
- Modulates sensory transmission between first and second order neurons in the posterior grey horn, particularly with respect to pain
What is pronator drift?
- With arms outstretched and eyes closed
- Affected limb drifts downwards and medially
- Forearms pronate
- Fingers flex
What are hemiplegia and hemiparesis?
- Hemiplegia: Paralysis of one half of the body
- Hemiparesis: Weakness of one half of the body
What is paraplegia and paraparesis?
- Paraplegia: Paralysis of both lower limbs
- Paraparesis: Weakness of both lower limbs
What is tetraplegia and tetraparesis?
- Tetraplegia: Paralysis of all four limbs
- Tetraparesis: Weakness of all four limbs
Identify five features of an upper motor neurone disease
- Pronator drift
- Weakness with characteristic distribution
- Exaggerated tendon reflexes
- Extensor plantar response
- Changes in tone: flaccid-spastic
Identity five features of a lower motor neurone disease
- Hypotonia
- Reflex loss
- Weakness
- Wasting
- Fasciculation
Define stroke
- A syndrome of rapid onset cerebral deficit (usually focal)
- Lasting over 24 hours or leading to death
- With no apparent cause other than a vascular one
Define transient ischaemic attack
- A brief episode of neurological dysfunction
- Due to temporary focal cerebral or retinal ischaemia without infarction
Outline the epidemiology of strokes
- Third most common cause of death
- Higher in Asian and black African populations
- Increases with age
- Death rate folllwing a stroke is 25 per cent
Outline 10 risk factors for stroke
- Hypertension
- Smoking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Alchohol
- High cholesterol
- Atrial fibrillation
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Carotid stenosis
- Sleep apnoea
Identify the two types of stroke
- Ischaemic stroke caused by thrombosis, stenosis, embolism, hypo-perfusion, 80% of strokes
- Haemorrhagic stroke, caused by intracerebral haemorrhage or subarachnoid haemorrhage, 20% of strokes
What is the main cause of a TIA
- Microemboli
What is amaurosis fugax?
- Transient loss of vision in one eye
- Due to passage of emboli through the retinal arteries
Outline the clinical features of a TIA originating from the anterior circulation
- Amaurosis fugax
- Aphasia
- Hemiparesis
- Hemisensory loss
- Hemianopic visual loss
Outline the clinical features of a TIA originating from the anterior circulation
- Diplopia, vertigo, vomiting
- Choking, dysarthria
- Ataxia
- Hemisensory loss
- Bilateral visual loss
- Tetraparesis
Which scoring system can be used to assess the severity of a TIA?
- ABCD2
- A: Age, 1 point if over 60
- B: BP, 1 point if over 140/90
- C: Clinical features, 2 points if hemiparesis, 1 point for aphasia
- D: Duration of symptoms, 2 points if longer than one hour, 1 point if between 10 minutes and 1 hour
- D: 1 point if diabetes
- Admit if a score greater than 4
Once admitted following a score >4 on the ABCD2 scoring system, outline 3 investigations that should be carried out
- Routine bloods (ESR, polycythaemia, vasculitis, thrombophilia)
- CXR
- ECG
- Carotid Doppler
- MR Angiography
Outline the pathophysiology of cerebral infarction
- Reduced blood flow so less oxygen hence ATP
- H+ is produced by anaerobic metabolism of available glucose
- Ionic pumps fail, allowing calcium entry and glutamate release
- Activation of destructive enzymes, destruction of organelles and fatty acid release for pro-coagulation
- Leading to inflammatory damage, necrosis, apoptosis
What is the most likely cause of a cerebral infarction?
- Infarction in internal capsule
- Following thromboembolism in middle cerebral artery
Outline the clinical features of a cerebral infarction
- Contralateral limb weakness
- Contralateral hemilegia
- Aphasia
What is Wallenberg’s syndrome
- Brainstem infarction
- Presenting as acute vertigo with cerebellar signs
A brainstem infarction of which area would produce a coma?
- Reticular activating system
The locked-in syndrome is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem
- Upper brainstem
Pseudobulbar palsy is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Lower brainstem
Hemiparesis or tetraparesis is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Corticospinal tracts
Sensory loss is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- DCML tracts
- Spinothalamic tracts
Facial numbness is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Trigeminal nuclei
Facial weakness is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Facial nerve
Dysphagia and dysarthria are caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Glossopharyngeal nuclei
- Vagus nuclei
Diplopia is caused by infarction of which region of the brainstem?
- Oculomotor nuclei
What is a lacunar infarct and which risk factor is it associated with?
- Small infarcts seen on MRI, often symptomless
- Hypertension
What causes hypertensive encephalopathy and what are the symptoms?
- Cerebral oedema
- Causing headaches, nausea and vomiting
What is Weber’s syndrome and what is its cause?
- Ipsilateral oculomotor nerve plasy
- With contralateral hemiplegia
- Due to unilateral infarct in the midbrain
Identify neurological deficits associated with problems in the middle cerebral artery
- Unilateral weakness involving face and arm, then legs
Identify neurological deficits associated with problems in the lateral medulla
- Ipsilateral Horner’s syndrome
- Vagus nerve plasy
- Facial sensory loss
- Contralateral spinothalamic sensory loss
Identify neurological deficits associated with problems in the posterior cerebral artery
- Homonymous hemianopia
- Due to parietal and or temporal lobe
Identify neurological deficits associated with problems in the internal capsule
- Motor or sensory loss
- Dysarthria from involvement of corticobulbar fibres
Identify neurological deficits associated with carotid artery dissection
- Ipsilateral Horner’s syndrome from compression of sympathetic plexus
What is FAST?
- Used by public and paramedics to make diagnosis of stroke and history based on simple history and examination
- Face: Sudden weakness of face
- Arm: Sudden weakness of one or both arms
- Speech: Difficulty speaking, slurred speech
- Time: Importance of rapid treatment
Identify the main treatment in cerebral infarction and one contraindication to its use
- Thrombolysis e.g. altelapse
- Intracranial haemorrhage, head trauma within last 3 months
What is an alternative treatment to thrombolysis?
- Aspirin 300 mg