Neurological Disorders, Damage, and Plasticity

Vocabulary flashcards covering the pathology of Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer's, types of neural degeneration, regeneration, cortical reorganization, and specific amnesia syndromes.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

A progressive disease that attacks CNS myelin, leaving areas of hard scar tissue known as sclerosis.

Ataxia

A symptom of Multiple Sclerosis characterized by the loss of motor coordination.

Amyloid Hypothesis

The theory regarding Alzheimer's disease suggesting that amyloid plaques are the primary cause and appear before neurofibrillary tangles.

Neurofibrillary Tangles

Protein aggregates involving tau found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, which are required for a definitive diagnosis at autopsy.

Anterograde Degeneration

The degeneration of the distal segment of a cut axon, occurring between the cut and the synaptic terminals.

Retrograde Degeneration

The degeneration of the proximal segment of a cut axon, occurring between the cut and the cell body.

Transneuronal Degeneration

Degeneration of neurons that synapsed on a damaged neuron (retrograde) or those on which a damaged neuron synapsed (anterograde).

Schwann Cells

Glial cells in the PNS that promote regeneration by producing neurotrophic factors and Cell Adhesion Molecules (CAMs).

Oligodendroglia

Glial cells in the CNS that actively inhibit neural regeneration.

Cognitive Reserve

The role of education and intelligence in permiting cognitive tasks to be accomplished in new ways, helping recovery from brain damage.

Constraint-induced Therapy

A rehabilitative technique for stroke patients involving tying down the functioning limb to foster recovery in the impaired one.

Phantom Limbs

A neuroplastic phenomenon hypothesized by Ramachandran to be caused by the reorganization of the somatosensory cortex after amputation.

Korsakoff's Syndrome

A disorder common in severe alcoholics, characterized by amnesia and confusion, typically caused by thiamine deficiency.

Mediodorsal Nuclei

Structures in the thalamus where damage is often observed in cases of Korsakoff's syndrome.

Acetylcholine

A neurotransmitter that declines significantly in Alzheimer's disease; its depletion is linked to basal forebrain degeneration.

Posttraumatic Amnesia

Amnesia following a concussion that may include retrograde amnesia for the period before the blow and anterograde amnesia after.

Memory Consolidation

The process of stabilizing a memory; a temporary failure in this process is suggested by the anterograde amnesia seen after a concussion.