Neurodegenerative Diseases (Neuropath CPC2) Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Neurodegenerative Diseases (Neuropath CPC2) Deck (21)
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1
Q

lesions and components of Alzheimer’s disease

A

senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles

amyloid b and tau

2
Q

ALS lesions and components

A

cytoplasmic inclusions and spheroids

ubiquitin/TDP-43 and neurofilaments

3
Q

lesions and components of Parkinson’s Dz Dementia with Lewy Bodies

A

Lewy bodies

alpha-synuclein

4
Q

lesions and components of tauopathies

A

neuronal and glial tangles

tau

5
Q

frontotemporal dementia lesions and components

A

cytoplasmic and nuclear inclusions

ubiquitin/TDP-43

6
Q

multiple systems atrophy lesions and components

A

glial cytoplasmic inclusions

alpha-synclein

7
Q

prion disease lesions and components

A

spongiform degeneration & prion plaques

prion protein

8
Q

short term memory

A
  1. Ability to retain and manipulate information for short periods of time (seconds to minutes)
  2. Dependent on attentional processes, processing speed
  3. Impaired with lesions of the frontal lobes, but also with diffuse brain disease
  4. Impairments lead to inefficient initial acquisition of information
9
Q

long term memory

A
  1. Ability to retain information after delay or distraction (days to months)
  2. Benefits from rehearsal (e.g. studying for a test)
10
Q

what does LT memory rely on? what happens if impaired?

A
  1. Depends on mesial temporal lobe function
  2. Impairments lead to anterograde amnesia
    a. Failure to recall newly learned information, starting at the time of brain injury
    b. Preservation of previously learned information
    c. Most common form of memory impairment
11
Q

what kind of lesion impairs ST memory?

A

frontal lobes and diffuse brain disease

12
Q

remote memory

A
  1. Ability to retain well-learned information from the remote past (years)
  2. Information thought to be represented more diffusely in the cortex
    a. Therefore relatively preserved after mesial temporal lobe injury
    b. Patients with dementia often remember earlier life reasonably well
  3. Well preserved in most clinical settings
13
Q

when do you see impairment of remote memory?

A

Deficits in recollection of well-learned information comprise retrograde amnesia and can be seen in more severe stages of dementia

14
Q

what part of brain is responsible for explicit memory?

A

medial temporal lobe

15
Q

what part of brain is responsible for implicit memory?

A

neural structures outside of medial temporal lobe

16
Q

what are hemispheric differences?

A

i. Left hemisphere: Tends to have larger role in verbal memory
ii. Right hemisphere: Tends to have larger role in visuospatial memory

17
Q

what is diagnostic criteria for dementia?

A

Diagnostic criteria (DSM-IV) entail impairment of memory and at least one of the following:

i. Disturbances of language (word-finding difficulties)
ii. Disturbances of praxis (inability to execute skilled motor activities in the absence of weakness)
iii. Disturbances of visual processing (visual agnosia and constructional disturbances)
iv. Disturbances of executive function (including abstract reasoning and concentration)

18
Q

what is dementia?

A

The gradual onset and continuing decline of cognitive function from a previously higher level, resulting in impairment in social or occupational function

19
Q

what are early symptoms of AD?

A

i. Deficits in delayed recall
ii. Language difficulties
iii. Visuospatial deficits
iv. Deficits in reasoning and related functional impairments
v. Alterations in Mood or Behavior

20
Q

what are treatable dementia syndromes?

A

a. Vitamin B12 deficiency
b. Neurosyphilis
c. Normal pressure hydrocephalus
d. Chronic subdural hematomas
e. Chronic meningitis
f. Paraneoplastic limbic encephalitis (can improve with identification and treatment of neoplasm)
g. “Pseudodementia” of depression

21
Q

what are features that make AD unlikely?

A

a. Sudden, apoplectic onset
b. Focal neurologic findings such as hemiparesis, sensory loss, visual field deficits, and incoordination early in the course of the illness
c. Seizures or gait disturbances at the onset or very early in the course of the illness