Neurological System Flashcards

Flashcards for Neurological System Study Guide

Neurological System

Responsible for coordinating and regulating all body functions; consists of the Central Nervous System (CNS) and the Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).

Central Nervous System (CNS)

Composed of the brain and spinal cord.

Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF)

Cushions, nourishes, and removes waste from the CNS.

Cerebrum

Consists of four lobes: frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital. Its outer layer is the cerebral cortex, governing thought, memory, reasoning, sensation, and voluntary movement.

Frontal Lobe

Directs voluntary, skeletal actions, influences communication, emotions, intellect, reasoning ability, judgment, and behavior. Contains Broca's area (speech).

Parietal Lobe

Interprets tactile sensations, including touch, pain, temperature, shapes, and two-point discrimination.

Occipital Lobe

Primary visual receptor center; influences the ability to read with understanding.

Temporal Lobe

Receives and interprets impulses from the ear; contains Wernicke's area (interpreting auditory stimuli); involved in processing taste and smell.

Broca's area

Responsible for speech (located in the frontal lobe).

Wernicke's area

Responsible for interpreting auditory stimuli (located in the temporal lobe).

Motor System Assessment

Directly evaluates frontal lobe voluntary motor control. Includes assessing muscle condition, movement, size, symmetry, strength, and tone, noting involuntary movements, and evaluating gait and balance.

Sensory System Assessment

Directly evaluates parietal lobe function. Includes testing sensations like light touch, pain, and temperature; vibratory sense and position sense.

Romberg Test

Client stands erect with arms at sides, feet together, first eyes open, then eyes closed for 20 seconds. Tests balance.

Cerebellar Ataxia

Wide-based, staggering, unsteady gait; positive Romberg test. Causes: cerebellar diseases, alcohol/drug intoxication.

Parkinsonian Gait

Shuffling gait, stiff turns, stooped posture with flexed hips and knees. Causes: Parkinson disease, drug-induced parkinsonism.

Spastic Hemiparesis

Flexed arm close to body while client drags or circles leg stiffly outward/forward. Causes: lesions of upper motor neurons in the corticospinal tract (e.g., stroke).

Ischemic Stroke

Damage to neurologic cells deprived of blood supply, such as when a cerebral artery becomes occluded.

Athetosis

Slower, more twisting/writhing movements with larger amplitude, commonly involving face and distal extremities. Cause: cerebral palsy.

Choreiform movements

Brief, rapid, jerky, irregular, and unpredictable movements, often involving face, head, lower arms, hands. Causes include Sydenham chorea and Huntington disease.