Intro To Clinical Neuroscience

Question 1

What is the encephalocentric theory?

Answer 1

Brain is the seat of sensation and understanding

Question 2

What is the cardiocentric theory?

Answer 2

Brain is the cooling agent of body heat and the heart is the emotional controller

Question 3

How does the brain work?

Answer 3

Dendrites receive signals that are processed by the cell body and transmitted through axons

Question 4

What is pareidolia?

Answer 4

Misinterpretation of sensory inputs

Question 5

What is the biological neural network?

Answer 5

Receptor -> neural network -> effector

Question 6

What is the computer neural network?

Answer 6

Input image -> convolutional layer -> pooling layer -> artificial neural network -> output

Question 7

What is localised functionality?

Answer 7

In the brain, one area deals with the hands, one with the feet etc

Question 8

What is a hippocampal sclerosis?

Answer 8

Structural change

Question 9

What can hippocampal sclerosis cause?

Answer 9

Seizures

Question 10

What damage does a haemorrhagic stroke cause?

Answer 10

Localised

Question 11

How does the X-ray CT work?

Answer 11

X-ray tube rotates around the patient with a detector on the other side

Question 12

What does MRI stand for?

Answer 12

Magnetic resonance imaging

Question 13

How does MRI work?

Answer 13

Strong magnetic field causes magnetisation of the protons in water and fat in tissue which can be manipulated by radio frequency pulses to create an image

Question 14

What does MRI image intensity depend on?

Answer 14

Water content, tissue structure, blood flow, perfusion, diffusion etc

Question 15

What does T2 MRI measure?

Answer 15

How long the NMR signal lasts

Question 16

What leads to an increased T2 MRI signal?

Answer 16

Increased tissue water and loss of cellular structure

Question 17

What is a T1 MRI used to measure?

Answer 17

Degenerative and disease specific changes and developmental abnormalities

Question 18

Which type of MRI shows grey/white matter contrast?

Answer 18

T1

Question 19

What does a diffusion MRI measure and for what?

Answer 19

How freely water can diffuse to work out which way the axons are facing

Question 20

What is a functional MRI used to see?

Answer 20

Blood activity

Question 21

How do functional MRIs work?

Answer 21

Deoxyhaemoglobin is paramagnetic
When brain is activated it uses more oxygen and glucose, so more blood flow, which washes out some deoxyhaemoglobin which increases MRI signal

Question 22

How does a PET scan work?

Answer 22

Inject a radiopharmaceutical that generates a localised gamma ray signal and detect it with a ring of gamma ray detectors

Question 23

What does PET stand for?

Answer 23

positron emission tomography