Methods of assessing brain function & dysfunction

Question 1

Simple bedside tests can be used to assess visual problems such as:

Answer 1

Hemianopia

Question 2

True or false: attentional problems such as social neglect and extinction can be tested using bedside assessments.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Asking a patient to name the category of a list of items (for example, Paris, Stockholm, and Zagreb are all cities in Europe) can help assess which aspect of cognition?

Answer 3

Memory

Question 4

True or false: bedside assessments can be used to assess short-term, but not long-term memory.

Answer 4

False

Question 5

True or false: the left and right hemispheres are reversed on neuroimaging scans (i.e. the right side appears on the left and the left on the right.)

Answer 5

True

Question 6

____ scans are more affordable than MRIs, but also have poorer resolution.

Answer 6

Computed tomography (CT)

Question 7

With what method of structural neuroimaging is the brain x-rayed and developed onto film?

Answer 7

Computed tomography (CT)

Question 8

On CT scans, low-density areas such as the ventricles and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) appear ___, and high-density areas such as bone appear ____.

Answer 8

Black; white.

Question 9

True or false: CT scans are the quickest way to assess the pathology of a stroke.

Answer 9

False
(It can take up to 5 days for the full extent of a stroke to develop on a scan.)

Question 10

What structural neuroimaging method is best at detecting c-shaped structures such as the corpus callosum and caudate nucleus?

Answer 10

MRI

Question 11

What structural neuroimaging method employs the use of a high-powered, full-body magnet?

Answer 11

MRI

Question 12

True or false: MRIs are useful because they can provide multiple orientations of the brain.

Answer 12

True
(Most other neuroimaging techniques only provide a horizontal view.)

Question 13

Which two structural neuroimaging techniques might someone use to understand the pathology of a stroke?

Answer 13

CT; MRI

Question 14

True or false: Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) employs the use of a DTI machine to scan the size and integrity of white matter tracts (axons) in the brain.

Answer 14

False
(DTI uses an MRI scanner.)

Question 15

This method of neuroimaging is super colourful!

Answer 15

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)

Question 16

This type of neuroimaging is used to demonstrate the vascular systems and problems with blood vessels within the brain:

Answer 16

Angiography

Question 17

_____ appear as a balloon-like figure on an angiogram:

Answer 17

Aneurysms

Question 18

_____ ______ appear “exploded” on an angiogram:

Answer 18

Arteriovenous malformations

Question 19

What functional method of neuroimaging records electrical activity in the brain via electrodes attached to the scalp?

Answer 19

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Question 20

What method of functional assessment might be used if someone was experiencing seizures?

Answer 20

Electroencephalography (EEG)

Question 21

The method of functional assessment in which a large coil is placed over the motor cortex to test the integrity of motor pathways is called:

Answer 21

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

Question 22

If the motor pathways in the brain are intact, then placing a TMS coil over the motor cortex should elicit:
a) seizure-like activity
b) movement in the lower limbs
c) movement in the hands

Answer 22

c) movement in the hands

Question 23

Electromyography (EMG):
a) is a different name for electroencephalography EEG)
b) records electrical activity in the muscles
c) records metabolically active parts of the brain

Answer 23

b) records electrical activity in the muscles
(positron emission tomography (PET) scans trace metabolically active parts of the brain)

Question 24

In this method of functional assessment, an agent is inhaled or injected into the body and travels to parts of the brain which are metabolically active:

Answer 24

Positron emission tomography (PET) scans

Question 25

On a PET scan, hot colours represent ___ activity, whereas cold colours represent ___ activity (more/less/neuronal/cerebral):

Answer 25

More; less

Question 26

MRI is a ____ measure of the brain; fMRI is a _____ measure of the brain:

Answer 26

Structural, functional.

Question 27

This method of functional assessment uses an MRI machine to track metabolic changes in the brain, but with better spatial resolution than other methods:

Answer 27

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

Question 28

Name the difference between fMRI and PET: a) the use of an invasive agent b) partial use of MRI c) what it measures (i.e. electrical or metabolic activity)

Answer 28

a) the use of an invasive agent (Both fMRI and PET measure metabolic activity and often use MRI machines/scans to support)

Question 29

Name one advantage of brain studies based on lesion location: a) the intact hemisphere can serve as a control for the lesioned hemisphere b) a developed understanding of abnormal function of that area c) easier to conduct than studies based on symptoms

Answer 29

a) the intact hemisphere can serve as a control for the lesioned hemisphere

Question 30

Name one disadvantage of brain studies based on lesion location: a) they are generally more difficult and more expensive to conduct than studies based on symptoms b) not everyone's brain develops the same c) lesions must be bilateral

Answer 30

b) not everyone's brain develops the same