Epilepsy and neuroplasticity

Question 1

Define epilepsy

Answer 1

a chronic medical condition produced by temporary changes in the electrical function of the brain, causing seizures which affect awareness, movement or sensation

Question 2

how much of the population does it affect

Answer 2

affects 05-1% of the population, mainly children and the elderly

Question 3

types of epilepsy

Answer 3

partial epilepsy
generalized epilepsy

Question 4

partial epilepsy

Answer 4

simple partial seizures
complex partial seizures

Question 5

generalized epilepsy

Answer 5

grand mal seizures
petit mal seizures

Question 6

simple partial seizures

Answer 6

localised to specific areas of the brain
localised affects that thend to be sensory and or motor

Question 7

complex partial seizures

Answer 7

localised to a specific area of the brain which makes it partial
complex because their effects are complex and diverse
also called focal onsent imapired awareness seizures
may be associated with apparently ordered/co-ordinated, but inappropriate motor behaviour

Question 8

auras

Answer 8

symptom preceding partial seizures
auras are abnormal sensations
sense of fear
rising feeling in abdomen
strange tastes or odours

Question 9

petit mal seizures

Answer 9

can involve entire brain
person is briefly absent disrupted consciousness
more common in children

Question 10

grand mal seizures

Answer 10

involve entire brain
patient might lose consciousness, fall to ground

Question 11

what happens to the brain during a seizure?

Answer 11

extensive synchronisation of firing across a large number of neurons
spike and wave at 3Hz associated with petit mal generalised seizures

Question 12

treatments of epilepsy

Answer 12

pharmacological: carbamazephine, phenoabarbital, phenytoin, valporic acid
drugs that target GABA or NA+ channels
surgery

Question 13

neuroplasticity

Answer 13

changes to brain structure, connectivity and function over time in response to an internal or external changing environment.

Question 14

3 key principles to neuroplasticity

Answer 14

1. neurodegeneration
2. neural regeneration
3. neural reorganisation

Question 15

neural degeneration

Answer 15

up to 100 billion neurons in the adult brain
connections die with age
reduced by 50-90% ad adulthood
grey matter volume declines with age
anterogade, retrogade and trans-neuronal degeneration
neurodegeneration results from a disruption to the homeostatic environment within and surrounding the neuron
disruption of normal neutransmitter funciton
loss of fuel supply

Question 16

necrosis

Answer 16

death due to cellular ill health

Question 17

apoptosis

Answer 17

cellular self destruct option

Question 18

neural regeneration

Answer 18

clear capacity for regrowth/regeneration in the peripheral nervous system - but more complex in the central nervous system

Question 19

what is critical for regeneration of PNS neurons

Answer 19

schwann cells
and distance to the target

Question 20

implications for spinal chord injury

Answer 20

target of spinal cord axons is usally quite distance
regeneration potential for seriously injured spinal chord neurons therefore much reduced
whereas, periperhal nerve targets such as muscle stand a much better chance
treatment strategies tend to focus on guiding regrowth and ehnancing the tissue environment

Question 21

neural reorganisation

Answer 21

brain is full of maps
after damage, these maps may need to be reconfigured

Question 22

challenges of neural reorganisation

Answer 22

phantom limb pain
cells are still intact and connected to rest of the nervous system
competition