Supranuclear Palsies Flashcards
what are the two principles of eye movement
keeping image steady on the retina
e.g. vestibular
optokinetic
pursuit
fixation
those that change the line of sight , acquire an image and hold it on the fovea - so that both eyes are looking at the target stimulating the fovea to get binocular single vision
e.g. saccades and vengeances
what pathways are involved in saccades
there are parallel pathways that converge on the brainstem from the frontal cortex and the posterior parietal cortex they descend and end with a signal at the pprf - the signal decussates and gets to the pprf - that is what generates horizontal saccades
what structures are inolved in horizontal saccades
pathways from frontal eye fields
parietal cortex, and superior colliculus
pathways decussate and terminate in the pprf
stimulation of the frontal eye fields results in
conjugate movement to the contralateral side
if you stimulate the left frontal eye field then you will get a saccade to the right
what structures are involved in vertical saccades
pathways from the frontal eye fields
pathway descends to rimlf in the mid brain
bilateral stimulation of the frontal eye fields results in vertical saccades- conjugate movement to the contralateral eye
what are the slow eye movement pathways
smooth pursuit , vestibular , optokinetic system , vergences
what structures are involved in smooth pursuits
Pareto occipital temporal junction is important - pathway is important because it changes two times (double decussation) - so clinically people say it is under ipsilateral control
vestibular ocular reflex ( What structures are involved)
vestibular - information comes from the semicircular canals (information comes from the inner ear)
ipsilateral horizontal vestibular nuclear complex (this is where the signals get to)-that relays information to the contralateral 6th nerve nucleus
vestibular eye movements to the contralateral side
optokinetic system
head rotation
system that initiates sustained head rotation and when we stop spinning - nucleus of the optic tract (in the brainstem) is important
what structures are important in vergence eye systems
pretectal nuclei = important
pathway= runs with 3rd cranial nerves
what are supranuclear pathways
how to the signals get to the cranial nerve nuclei
what are the different possible sites of lesions
supranuclear pathways ( supranauclear)
cranial nerve nuclei (nuclear) - internuclear- between cranial nerve nuclei
infra nuclear pathway (course of nerve) is infra nuclear
neuromuscular junction
extraocular muscle
globe
what happens when you get a lesion above the level of the nucleus
a lesion above the level of the nucleus
resulting in gaze palsies
horizontal
vertical
global paralysis
i..e you can’t make a horizontal gaze or a vertical gaze
what type of gaze tends to be affected in a supranuclear palsy
conjugate gaze tends to be affected
i.e. both eyes not looking into the positon
diplopia is often not a problem because both of the eyes are doing the same thing
lesions can be paralytic , destructive , irratative
complete/partial
what are the different types of lesions causing supranuclear palsies
parlaytic/ destructive/ irritative
complete/partial
paralytic lesion meaning there is a complete failure of function - and the eyes deviate towards the side of the lesion
irratative lesion = increase in stimulation of affected area
eyes deviate to the opposite side of the lesion
what are signs of frontal lesions
drowsiness/impaired concious rate
what are signs of unilateral frontal lobe lesions
unable to perform saccades
- affeceting the frontal eye filed so saccadic signals are disrupted
paralytic lesion - visual hemineglect to the same side as the lesion
if you had a right frontal lobe lesion what would be affected
right frontal lobe lesion = failure of saccades to the left
in bilateral frontal lobe lesions what would you expect to see
you wouldn’t be able to make saccades to either side
vor (which is a reflex movement) will be intact
so you need to compare saccades to VOR to distinguish between bilateral and unilateral frontal lobe lesions
what will happen if you have a occipital lobe lesion
you will have a contralateral visual field defect
unilateral lesion results in contralateral hemianopia and saccadic Dysmetria in direction of the visual field defect
bilateral lesions result in cortical blindness
what is a right hemianopia caused by
right homonymous hemianopia can’t see anything on right visual deed and is caused by left occipital lobe lesion