Special Topics Flashcards
centralization of pain theory
-explains chronic pain
-sensitization to pain from repeated pain signals or nerve stimulation –> develop lower pain threshold and stronger pain response
gate control theory
sensations of pain are mediated by neural gates in the spinal cord that allow (or don’t) pain signals to continue to the brain
beta waves
awake, alert, attentive
alpha waves
relaxation (but awake)
theta waves
in Stage 1 of sleep (transition b/w wakefulness and sleep)
sleep spindles
Stage 2 of sleep; rapid, rhythmic brain wave activity
delta waves
in Stage 3 (transitional b/w light and deep) and Stage 4 (deep sleep); muscles maintain tone in these stages
REM sleep more prominent in…
-second half of the night
-REM also declines w/ age
what is a seizure?
-disruption of brain’s normal electrical activity
-altered consciousness and/or neurological and behavioral manifestations
tonic clonic seizures
aka grand mal; generalized; sudden loss of consciousness and tonic + clonic activity
followed by headache, confusion, fatigue, amnesia for the seizure
absence seizures
aka petit mal; generalized; mostly in children; last 1-30 sec; change in level of consciousness, blinking, eye rolling , blank stare, slight mouth movements; posture is retained and then return to pre-seizure activity w/o difficulty
partial seizures
electrical disturbance limited to a specific area of one cerebral hemisphere
-simple: consciousness/awareness retained
-complex: consciousness impaired/lost
simple partial seizure
-consciousness/awareness retained
-may incl. motor (twitching), autonomic (heart racing), sensory (smells), or psych (fear, deja vu) sxs
-e.g., Jacksonian seizures: frontal lobe, initially localized motor seizure that spreads (e.g., twitching finger then moves up hand, arm)
complex partial seizure
-consciousness lost/impaired
-often include automatisms (involuntary purposeless bxs, e.g., lip smacking, repeating nonsense phrases, fidgeting, aimless walking)
-may be preceded by an aura
-often from temporal lobe epilepsy
EEG
electrical activity in the cortex, can localize source of seizure
PET / SPECT scans
functional imaging using radioactive material, measures metabolism and blood flowo
tension headaches
-most common headache
-bilateral, dull and steady pain
-can usually fx normally
-more common in women
migraines
-2nd most common headache
-unilateral throbbing pain, mod to sev
-may incl. nausea, vomiting, light/sound sensitivity, an aura beforehand, visual disturbances (ocular/retinal type)
cluster headaches
-recur in groups/cycles over a period of days or weeks
-appear suddenly
-debilitating unilateral pain + watery eye, nasal congestion
-rare but more common in men
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
