Neurology Terms Flashcards
(32 cards)
Dyskinesia
Difficulty/abnormality in performing voluntary muscle movements
Impairment in ability to control movements
Characterized by spasmodic or repetitive motions/lack of coordination
Fragmented or jerky movements
Bradykinesia
Slow movement
Slowness in the execution of movement
Akinesia
Inability to initiate movement
Due to problems selecting and activating motor programs in the brain
Rigidity
An increase in resistance to passive movement
Responsible for characteristic flexed position
Slowness of voluntary movement - swinging arms while walking
Voluntary action may be briefly regained during an emergency
Chorea
“to dance”
Brief irregular contractions not repetitive or rhythmic, but appear to flow from one muscle to another
Occur without conscious effort
Ballism
Severe chorea
Slight movements become thrashing motions
Odd postures
Leg movements
Dysarthria
Any articulation disorder caused by impairment of the muscles used in speech caused by a nerve defect
Stammering or stuttering
Allodynia
Ordinarily painless stimulus is experienced as being painful
Akathisia
Motor restlessness
Inability to sit still
Cataplexy
Muscular weakness with sudden loss of postural tone
Triggered by emotional stimulus
Results in falls to the floor
May occur with narcolepsy
Cogwheeling
Rachet-like movement due to superimposition of tremor or rigidity
Facial masking (hypomimia)
Decreased facial expression due to rigidity of facial muscles
Fasciculation
Spontaneous firing of an axon causing a visible twitch of all the muscle fibers it contacts
Indicates denervation
Festination
An involuntary tendency to take short, accelerating steps in walking that can occur in Parkinson’s
Freezing
Sudden, brief cessation of movement
Common in Parkinson’s
Korsakoff Syndrome
Chronic phase of thiamine deficiency
Impairment in establishing new memories and retrieving previous memories
Occurs most commonly in alcoholics
Myoclonus
Sudden, shock-like, jerking contraction of a group of muscles
Oculogyric crisis
Acute dystonic reaction to neuroleptic drugs
Sudden, sustained twisting of the head and upward deviation of eyes
Responsive to anticholinergic/antihistamine meds
On-off phenomenon
Sudden, unpredictable changes in motor performance by patients on levodopa therapy
Palsy
Paralysis of a muscle group
Paraplegia
Paralysis of both legs
Penumbra
Area around the dense core of irreversibly damaged cells
Ionic homeostasis is preserved, reduced neuronal electrical activity, but is capable of recovery
Tardive
Sx develop slowly or appear long after inception
Tic
Repetitive, stereotyped, simple or complex movements that can be voluntarily suppressed for short periods of time
