Chapter 14 – Neurocognitive Disorders

Question 1

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual may not know where he or she is, what the day is, or who familiar people are

Answer 1

Impairment of orientation

Question 2

A consequence of brain disease in which the individuals thinking becomes clouded, sluggish, or inaccurate. The person may lose the ability to plan with foresight or to understand abstract concepts and hands to process complex information. Thought impoverishment.

Answer 2

Impairment of learning, comprehension, and judgement

Question 3

Consequence of brain disease in which the individual is emotionally overreactive: laughing, crying, or flying into a rage with little provocation

Answer 3

Impairment of emotional control or modulation

Question 4

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual is emotionally under reactive and seems indifferent to people or events

Answer 4

Apathy or emotional blunting

Question 5

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual lacks self-starting capability and may have to be reminded repeatedly about what to do next, even when the behaviour involved remains well within the persons range of competence. Sometimes referred to as loss of executive function

Answer 5

Impairment in the initiation of behaviour

Question 6

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual may manifest a marked lowering of personal standards in areas such as appearance, personal hygiene, sexuality, or language

Answer 6

Impairment of controls over matters of propriety and ethical conduct

Question 7

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual may be unable to comprehend written or spoken language or maybe unable to express his or her own thoughts orally or in writing

Answer 7

Impairment of receptive and expressive communication

Question 8

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual has difficulty coordinating motor activity with the characteristics of the visual environment, a deficit that affects graphomotor (hand writing and drawing) and constructional performance (example, assembling things)

Answer 8

Impaired visuospatial ability

Question 9

State of mental confusion characterized by relatively rapid onset of widespread disorganization of the higher mental processes, caused by a generalized disturbance in brain metabolism. May include impaired perception, memory, and thinking and abnormal psychomotor activity

Answer 9

Delirium

State of acute brain failure that lies between normal wakefulness and stupor or coma

Common in the elderly and children, and especially after surgery, which is a bad prognostic sign

Treatment: medication, environmental manipulations, and family support. Drugs used to treat schizophrenia like neuroleptics. Environmental manipulations such as good lighting, clear signage, and easily visible calendars and clocks that help the patient stay oriented.

Question 10

Progressive deterioration of brain functioning occurring after the completion of brain maturation in adolescence. Characterized by deficits in memory, abstract thinking, acquisition of new knowledge or skills, visuospatial comprehension, motor control, problem-solving, and judgement

Answer 10

Dementia

Unlike delirium, does not have a sudden onset, and it symptoms do not wax and wane. Onset is typically quite gradual.

Question 11

A neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor problems (rigidity, tremors) and caused by destruction of dopamine neurons in the brain

Answer 11

Parkinson’s disease

Question 12

A rare and fatal degenerative disorder which is manifested in jerking, twitching movements and mental deterioration. Caused by a dominant gene on chromosome 4.

Answer 12

Huntington’s disease

Formerly called Huntington’s chorea.
Begins in midlife around 40 years of age, and affects men and women equal numbers.
Because the gene is a dominant gene, anyone who has a parent with the disease has a 50% chance of developing the disease.

Question 13

A progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by deterioration in memory, cognition, and basic self-care skills

Answer 13

Alzheimer’s disease

The most common cause of dementia.
Diagnosis is made after a thorough clinical assessment, however, can only be confirmed after the patient’s death because an autopsy must be performed to see the brain abnormalities that are such distinctive signs.
Usually begins after about age 45.

It has been estimated that the rate doubles about every five years after a person reaches the age of 40.

Risk factors include being female, being a current smoker, having fewer years of formal education, lower income, lower occupational status.

Question 14

Form of Alzheimer’s disease that appears in people who are younger than approximately 60 years of age. Thought to be caused by rare genetic mutations

Answer 14

Early-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Question 15

The occurrence of Alzheimer’s disease in the more elderly. One gene thought to be involved in this form of the disease is the APOE gene

Answer 15

Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Question 16

Variant of a gene on chromosome 19 that significantly enhances risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 16

APOE-4 allele

Apolipoprotein. This gene codes for a blood protein that helps carry cholesterol through the bloodstream.

Question 17

What are three brain abnormalities characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 17

Amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and atrophy or shrinkage of the brain

Question 18

Found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, these deposits of aluminum silicate and abnormal protein (beta amyloid) are believed to cause loss of neurons

Answer 18

Amyloid plaques

Question 19

Twisted and weblike nerve filaments that characterize the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 19

Neurofibrillary tangles

These proteins are made up of another protein called tau, which in a normal, healthy brain, acts like a scaffolding, supporting a tube inside neurons and allowing them to conduct nerve impulses. In Alzheimer’s disease the tau is misshaped and tangled which causes the neuron tube to collapse.

Question 20

A progressive brain deterioration that is caused by infection from the HIV virus

Answer 20

HIV-associated dementia

Question 21

A brain disorder in which a series of small strokes destroying neurons, leading to brain atrophy and behavioural impairments that are similar to Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 21

Vascular dementia

Question 22

Striking deficit in the ability to recall ongoing events more than a few minutes after they have taken place, or the inability to recall the recent past

Answer 22

Amnestic disorder

Immediate recall, that is, the ability to repeat what has just been heard, is not usually affected. Memory for remote past events is also usually relatively preserved. However, short-term memory is typically so impaired that the person is unable to recall events that took place only a few minutes previously. To compensate, patients sometimes confabulate, making up events to fill in the void that they have in their memories.
In contrast to dementia, overall cognitive functioning is often quite good.
Brain damage is the root cause, and might be caused by strokes, injury, tumors, or infections.

Question 23

This disorder is a neurological condition resulting from chronic alcohol abuse and severe malnutrition (vitamin B)

Answer 23

Korsakoff’s syndrome

Also referred to as Korsakoff’s dementia, Korsakoff’s psychosis, or amnesic-confabulatory syndrome

Question 24

Brain damage resulting from motor vehicle crashes, bullets or other objects entering the brain, and other severe impacts to the head

Answer 24

Traumatic brain injury or TBI

Children aged 0 to 4, adolescents aged 5 to 19, and adults aged 65 years and older are most likely to experience it. Higher for males than females

Question 25

Loss of memory for events that occurred during a circumscribed period prior to brain injury or damage

Answer 25

Retrograde amnesia

Question 26

Loss of memory for events that occur following trauma or shock

Answer 26

Anterograde amnesia

Question 27

A consequence of brain disease in which the individual has trouble remembering recent events, although memory for past events may remain more intact.

Answer 27

Impairment of memory