Describe the central versus peripheral nervous system
Central: brain and spinal cord
Peripheral: autonomic versus somatic NS
- autonomic= parasympathetic (rest & digest) + sympathetic (Fight or flight)
- Somatic= motor movement
What are the 4 lobes and their general function?
- Temporal
- auditory reception and visual processing - Parietal- Sense of touch and bodily position
- Occipital
- visual reception - Frontal
- carry’s out executive functions like stimuli perception, attention, problem solving and fine motor ability
What are 4 main purposes of neurological assessment ?
- assists with differential diagnosis
- Tracks functioning over time (for recovery or progress of degeneration)
- Track functioning before an intervention
- Assists with planning treatment
Describe a case history or case study
This can utilize self-reports or collateral informant reports as well as an interview to determine the psychological or medical history of the patient as well as their presenting concerns
What are the 2 Mental status exams?
- The MMSE
- The MOCA
- these are common screening exams that test various domains of cognitive function both on a 30pt scale
List the cognitive functions measured on neurological tests
(1) Perceptual skill, (2) motor skills, (3) attention, (4) processing speed, (5) memory, (6) language abilities, (7) executive functions, (8) visuospatial skills
What is one test that measures perceptual skill ?
The Ishihara test measures color blindness using various images
What is one test that measures language abilities ?
The Boston naming test asks subject to name what they see in the image they are shown
What are the 2 forms of memory that can be assessed ?
- Procedural
- Declarative
- declarative includes, episodic + semantic memory
What do assessments of declarative memory measure?
Measure typically episodic memory like verbal and nonverbal memory (names vs faces), structured and nonstructural memory (word list vs a story) or recall and recognition
What is one test that measures memory ?
The CVLT-II measures episodic memory looking at encoding, recall and recognition
What is one test that measures executive function ?
- The Tower of Hanoi is a puzzle where one must stack the rings onto the pegs according to specific guidelines
- The Clock drawing test asks individuals to draw out a clock with a specific time
Who is HM ?
For seizure treatment he underwent a temporal lobectomy resulting in mild retrograde (access to old memories) and severe anterograde amnesia (making new memories)
What are some neurological tests on the brain can be done for imaging ?
- An MRI
- used to map certain lesions in the brain - An EEG
- measure the electrical brain activity while a patient has a seizure or from any other presented stimuli
