Week 0 Flashcards
What is Saltatory Conduction?
Rapid method via which electrical impulses travel down myelinated axon with excitation only occurring at nodes of Ranvier
What is Myasthenia Gravis?
Autoimmune disease of neuromuscular junction where antibodies block / destroy post-synaptic ACH receptors
What is the main sign of Myasthenia Gravis?
Drooping of one or both eyelids due to oculomotor weakness
Give 4 examples when NCS are used in focal neuropathies
Traumatic nerve injury
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Ulnar neuropathy
Radiculopathy
Give 4 examples when NCS are used in polyneuropathies
Diabetes mellitus
Motor neuron disease
Demyelinating polyneuropathies
Disorders of neuromuscular junction
What is Charcot-Marie Tooth disease?
A hereditary demyelinating polyneuropathy causing sensory and motor peripheral neuropathy
What are the signs of Charcot-Marie Tooth disease?
Difficulty walking, foot drop, high arched feet and hammer toe
What is Guillain-Barre syndrome?
An autoimmune, rapidly progressive demyelinating polyneuropathy
How does Guillain-Barre syndrome present?
As progressive peripheral neuropathy. May lead to respiratory muscular paralysis
What is Dysarthria?
Inability to speak due to weakness of muscles needed for speech
What is Dysphasia / Aphasia?
A partial / complete higher order inability to speak
What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?
A memory disorder due to vitamin B1 deficiency, associated with alcoholism
What is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo?
An inner ear problem that causes acute vertigo when the head is moved in certain positions
What is Chorea?
Sudden unintentional jerking of arms, legs and facial muscles
What is Athetosis?
Slow, writhing movements of fingers, limbs or trunk
Brain stem is made up of which 3 structures?
Mid brain, Pons, Medulla Oblongata
Telencephalon is made up of which 3 structures?
Cortex, Brain stem, Cerebellum
What are the 6 lobes of the brain?
Frontal, Parietal, Occipital, Temporal, Insula, Limbic
What are the main functions of the Frontal lobe?
Voluntary Movement (primary motor cortex + premotor cortex)
Language production (Broca’s area)
Personality (prefrontal cortex)
What are the main functions of the Parietal lobe?
Integration of somatosensory info (primary + secondary somatosensory cortices)
Language (Wernicke’s area)
Movement (Primary somatosensory cortex)
What are the main functions of the Temporal lobe?
Auditory processing (primary + secondary auditory cortices) Comprehension of speech (Wernicke’s area)
Olfaction (olfactory cortex)
Emotions; mainly fear (amygdala)
Conscious memory + learning (hippocampus)
What are the 2 main functions of the Occipital lobe?
Visual perception and processing (primary and secondary visual cortices)
Memory
What are the main functions of the Insula?
Olfaction
Taste
Discriminative touch
What are the 2 main functions of the limbic Lobe?
Behavioural and emotional responses
Learning + memory
(5F’s)
The lateral and medial Geniculate bodies are both a part of what structure?
Metathalamus
(Lat - vision)
(Med - hearing)
Hypophysial (Pituitary) Gland is made up of what two structures?
Neurohypophysis Post and Adenohypophysis Ant
(From roof of mouth and floor of diencephalon respectively)
Neurohypophysis secretes which two hormones?
Oxytocin from paraventricular nuc. and ADH from supraoptic nuc.
The mid brain is made from what 3 structures?
Tectum
Red nuc.
Substantia Nigra
The respiratory centre is located where in the brain?
Medulla and Pons
Area postrema is located where in the brain?
Medulla
What is Pyramidal Decussation and where does it occur?
The crossing of corticospinal axons leading to contralateral control
In the medulla
Where is Norepinephrine produced?
Locus Ceruleus
Where is Dopamine produced?
Substantia nigra pars compacta
Where is Serotonin produced?
Raphe nuc.
Where is ACH produced?
Basal nuc. of Meynert
What structure, if damaged, would lead to a coma?
Reticular Formation
What does the Dorsal and Ventral respiratory group control?
Inspiration (DRG) and Expiration (VRG) respectively
Does the cerebellum control contra or ipsilaterally?
Ipsilaterally
What is Uncal herniation?
Herniation of the uncus through the tentorial notch, compressing the ipsilateral crus cerebri
What is Cerebellar tonsil herniation?
Herniation of cerebellar tonsil through foramen magnum (Life threatening)
What are the 7 neuron modalities from medial to lateral?
GSE, GVE, SVE, GVA, SVA, GSA, SSA
What is the direction of movement of Projection, Association, and Commissural fibres?
Up Down, Front Back, Left Right
What are the 5 functions of Astrocytes?
Potassium metabolism
Blood brain barrier
XS neurotransmitter removal
Structural support
Repair
Blood brain barrier is made from what 3 structures?
Astrocyte foot processes
Endothelial tight junctions
Basement membrane
Name the 4 types of MS
Relapsing
Primary
Secondary
Progressive
What are some of the treatments for MS?
Disease modifying therapies
High-dose corticosteroids
Physiotherapy
What’s the formal name for the “pituitary” gland?
Hypophysial gland
What are the 6 layers of the Neocortex from superficial to deep?
Molecular
Ext. granular
Ext. pyramidal
Int. granular
Int. pyramidal
Multiform
What layers of the Neocortex receive and send inputs from other parts of the cortex / spinal cord?
Granular layers (Int. + Ext.)
What layers of the Neocortex process information and send info to local and distant targets?
Pyramidal (Int. + Ext.)
What symptoms are typical of damage to the frontal lobe?
Personality changes
Deficits in planning and initiative
Primitive reflexes
What is the function of the Corpus Callosum?
Serves as a conduit allowing info to travel from one side of the brain to another
What may be a cause of acromegaly?
Pituitary Adenoma
What are the symptoms of a pituitary adenoma causing acromegaly?
Abnormal body growth & loss of peripheral vision (due to compression of optic chiasm)
What is the optic Chiasm?
Location where the medial branches of the optic nerve cross over to other side of brain
What is hemianopia?
loss of one half of your field of vision
Where is the primary motor cortex?
Precentral gyrus
Where is the somatosensory cortex?
Postcentral gyrus
What’s the difference between Primary and Association cortex’s?
Primary receives and/or sends info with little processing, Association integrates info from various parts of brain to support higher order cognitive processes
What is the role of the caudate nucleus?
Conduit for info moving from cortex to basal ganglia. Receives info relating to decision making, motivation, and motor control. Promotes behaviour that result in “reward”
What lobe are the Hippocampus and Amygdala located in?
Temporal Lobe
What is the Choroid plexus?
Network of blood vessels in each ventricle that produce CSF
What structure closely follows the lateral geniculate nucleus?
Caudate nuc.
What structure makes up the lateral walls of the 3rd Ventricle?
Thalamus
What structure is the Cingulate gyrus a part of?
Limbic Lobe
What two structures form the Dorsal striatum?
Caudate nuc. & Putamen
Where is the cerebral aqueduct located?
the mid brain
What are the 2 types of receptors in the postsynaptic membrane?
Ionotropic
and
Metabotropic
Describe how Ionotropic receptors are activated
Directly
Gate ion flow
Describe how Metabotropic receptors are activated
Indirectly
Gate ion flow or activate other pathways
What is the hallmark of Myasthenia Gravis?
Fatiguability
(w/ painless weakness)
What mediates stretch reflexes?
Muscle spindles
When are Nerve conduction studies (NSC) indicated?
Useful for any focal sens or motor symptoms
Less useful in polyneuropathies
Less reliable in elderly
What are the glial cells of the CNS?
Oligodendrocytes
Astrocytes
Microglia
Ependyma
What are the glial cells of the PNS?
Schwann cells
Satellite cells
