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Human Neuropsychology (486 / 686)
Lecture Chapter 26
“Neurological Disorders”
.
1
The Neurological Examination

Patient History
Patient and family background and disease history
Observation of behavior and state of awareness
Simple tests of memory and speech

The Physical Examination
Head and body size, Blood pressure
Various reflexes
Smell and taste, sensation and hearing
Sensitivity to light
Muscular strength
Object recognition, speech repetition
Vascular Disorders

Cerebral vascular accident (CVA) aka
Stroke: sudden appearance of neurological
symptoms resulting from disruption of blood flow
to the brain
Mild to severe
Vascular Disorders

Ischemia – lack of blood supply
Causes: Thrombosis, Embolism, Cerebral Arteriosclerosis,
Cerebral Vascular Insufficiency (transient ischemia)

Migraine stroke - Appears as a transient
ischemic attack
Symptoms: Impaired sensory function, Numbness,
Difficulty moving, Aphasia

Cerebral Hemorrhage – bleeding
most common cause high blood pressure
Vascular Disorders

Angiomas -

Collection of
abnormal blood
vessels
Angiomas Arteriovenous
Malformation

Aneurysms Vascular dilation
Treatments

Drug therapies
Anticoagulants, blood
pressure
meds,steroids

Surgeries
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Open Head Injury – penetrating wounds,
deficits specific to injury site, greatest risk of
infection
 Closed Head Injury –
forces that cause damage: coup,
countercoup, twisting and shearing,
bleeding and edema

Closed-Head Injuries

Coma

Behavioral effects

General complaints

Risk for future head injury

Cumulative effects
Behavioral Assessment

Glasgow Coma
Scale
Behavioral Assessment

Post-Traumatic
Amnesia (PTA)
Epilepsy

Three common
symptoms

Diagnosed with
EEG
Types of Seizures:

Focal
Jacksonian, Complex partial

Generalized
Grand Mal, Petit Mal

Akinetic and Myoclonic
Treatment for Epilepsy:
Anticonvulsant drugs
 Surgery

Tumors
Benign vs Malignant
 Encapsulated vs Infiltrating


Types:
Gliomas, Meningiomas, Metastatic

Treatment:
Surgery, Radiation, Chemotherapy
Gliomas:
oligodendroglioma
astrocytoma
ependymoma
Menigiomas
Metastatic
tumors
From Lung
cancer
From skin
cancer
Headaches: Migraine
Classic migraine
Common migraine
Cluster headache
Hemiplegic and ophthalmologic migraine
Treatment: Specific drugs to prevent and
control pain e.g. topamax, ergotamine
Other Headaches

Neurological disease related
Causes: tumor, head trauma,infections, vascular malformation,
hypertension
treatment: treat the cause

Muscle-contraction headaches (tension)
treatment: Analgesics, Muscle relaxants, tranquilizers,
posture improvement, reduce stress

Nonmigrainous vascular headaches
Causes: Fever, anoxia, anemia, high altitude, physical effort,
hypoglycemia, food, or chemical agents
Infections
Interfere with blood supply, Disrupt glucose or
oxygen metabolism, Alter cell membranes, Form
pus, Edema
Types:
 Viruses – neurotropic, pantropic
treatment: Difficult to treat; no antidote

Bacteria – Meningitis, Brain abscesses
treatment: Antibiotics, Drainage


Mycotic Infections – fungus
Parasitic Infections – Amebiasis,Malaria
No satisfactory treatment, Antibiotics
Motor Neurons and the Spinal Cord

Myasthenia Gravis

Poliomyelitis

Multiple Sclerosis

Paraplegia

Brown-Séquard Syndrome

Hemiplegia
1. Moran and Desimone showed that monkey
neurons responded selectively to specific
stimuli in their visual fields:
a. after reward training
b. when the stimulus was presented to the right
visual hemifield
c. when the stimulus was presented to the left
visual hemifield
d. when the stimulus was a particular color
2. Which of the following processes are
necessary prerequisites of consciousness?
a. attention and perception
b. working memory
c. arousal
d. all of these processes are necessary
3. Dendrite growth differs from axonal
growth in that:
a. axons grow faster than dendrites in order
to play a role in shaping dendritic growth
b. axons grow faster than dendrites in order
to reach a larger maximum size
c. dendrite grow faster than axons in order to
play a role in shaping axonal growth
d. dendrite grow faster than axons in order to
reach a larger maximum size
4. After a series of higher than normal
stimulations followed by a rest period, a
baseline stimulation to a neuron elicits a
greater excitatory post synaptic potential
from another neuron that receives it’s
projections. This phenomenon is known as:
a. kindling
b. long-term potentiation
c. ischemia
d. synaptogenesis
5. Countercoup damage is the result of:
a. aneurysm
b. infection
c. closed head injury
d. open head injury
6. What are Piaget’s four stages of
cognitive development? Briefly
characterize each stage.
7. What evidence is there that motor
maps can be modified by experience?
8. What is the difference between an
angioma and an aneurysm?