Motor Disorders

What can motor cortex damage cause?

Impaired movement

What is Cerebral Palssy?

Stiffness in the muscles caused by damage to motor control structures in the brain

What is a stroke?

Damage to the brain from interruption of its blood supply.

What are the causes of strokes?

Haemorrhage (burst anuerism) oand Ischaemia (lack of oxygen)

What are the most prominent symptoms of motor cortex damage?

Fine motor control impairments

What is upper motor neuron syndrome?

Collection of symptoms that results from damage to UMNs (cortex) or their pathways

What aspect of movement is affected by upper motor neuron syndrome?

Reflexes

What is Parkinson's Disease caused by?

Lack of dopamine from the basal ganglia

Why is it useful to study genetic causes of primarily 'non-genetic' diseases, as these often occur in a small minority of affected people

Observations of the proteins going wrong in genetic cases can help fix sporadic cases

What is a limitation of L-Dopa?

Does not address the non-motor symptoms of PD

What is Deep Brain Stimulation?

Electrical stimulation of specific BG structures to counteract excessive inhibitory output.

What are some limitations of Deep Brain Stimulation?

Fails to deal with non-motor symptoms of PD

How do link Alpha-synuclein & Lewy Bodies to Parkinson's Disease?

Alpha-synuclein are problematic proteins that lump together to form Lewy Bodies

When happens when the cerebellum is damaged?

Ataxia: Disturbances in Posture & Decomposition of movement

What is motor neuron disease?

Cluster of major degenerative diseases characterized by selective loss of neurons in motor cortex, cranial nerve nuclei, and anterior horn cells.

What is an example of a motor neuron disease?

ALS