Forebrain ❌

Forebrain/prosencephalon

• telencephalon + diencephalon

• cortex is site of consciousness, integration & decision-making/intention - processes sensory information & sends appropriate response

• decussation - all information is contralateral

Normal functions of forebrain

• mentation: consciousness/awareness & appropriateness (is the pt doing things that make sense)

• sensory: processing information for conscious perception & sending appropriate response

• motor: voluntary motor function planning/initiation

• cognition: learning, memory, intellectual function

Tests of forebrain function

• menace response

• nasal sensation

• pain perception

• conscious proprioception

Dysfunction of the forebrain

• inappropriate mentation, hemineglect, seizures

• posture/gait - head/body turn (pleurothotonus), contralateral proprioceptive deficits w/normal gait

• inappropriate menace + nasal responses, contralateral postural reaction deficits

• may not acknowledge contralateral side of the body on palpation

Ddx for forebrain Dz