Neuro Terms

Front 1

Agnosia

Back 1

Inability to process sensory information. Often there is a loss of ability to recognize objects, persons, sounds, shapes, or smells while the specific sense is not defective nor is there any significant memory loss
Cause = Stroke in ICA

Front 2

Apraxia

Back 2

A motor disorder caused by damage to the brain (specifically the posterior parietal cortex), in which someone has difficulty with the motor planning to perform tasks or movements when asked, provided that the request or command is understood and he/she is willing to perform the task.

Cause = Cerebral cortex lesion

Front 3

Aphasia

Back 3

Loss of language comprehension, expression or both.

Wernicke (Receptive)

Broca (Expressive)
Cause = Stroke in either ACA, MCA, PCA (receptive aphasia), ICA (dominant hemisphere)

Front 4

Analgesia

Back 4

Loss of pain sensation.
Cause = Lesion in the thalamus, lack of or damage to sensory nerve endings

Front 5

Hyperesthesia

Back 5

Increase in sensation
Cause = lesions in the spinal cord, thalamus, sensory cortex or peripheral sensory nerve

Front 6

Hypoesthesia

Back 6

Decrease in sensation.
Cause = lesions in the spinal cord, thalamus, sensory cortex or peripheral sensory nerve

Front 7

Ataxia

Back 7

Lack of coordination of movement
Cause = Lesion or stroke in sensory or motor pathways or the cerebellum and anti-seizure/sedatives/hypnotic drug toxicities

Front 8

Diplopia

Back 8

Double vision
Cause = lesion of extra occular muscles, damage to the third, fourth, or sixth cranial nerves (which control eye movements), cerebellar damage

Front 9

Dysarthria

Back 9

Loss of mechanics of speech. Meaning and comprehension is maintained.
Cause = Anti-seizure drugs, sedatives/hypnotic drugs toxicity. Lesion in cerebellum, cerebellar artery stroke, or vertebrobasilar artery stroke

*Bulbar symptom

Front 10

Dyskinesia

Back 10

Impairment of voluntary movement, resulting in fragment or incomplete movement.
Cause = Disorder of the basal ganglia. Reaction to psychotropic drugs.

Front 11

Dysphagia

Back 11

Difficulty swallowing
Cause = Lesion of cranial nerves IX and X.

*Bulbar symptom

Front 12

Homonymous Hemianopsia

Back 12

Loss of vision in one side of the visual field.
Cause = Stroke in either the Posterior Cerebral Artery (PCA) or Internal Carotid Artery (ICA)

Front 13

Hemiplegia

Back 13

Paralysis of one side.

Cause = Stroke or other lesion

Front 14

Nystagmus

Back 14

Jerking or bobbing of the eyes as the track a moving object.
cause = lesions in the cerebellum, brain stem, vestibular system, anti-seizure/sedative/hypnotic toxicity

Front 15

Ophthalmoplegia

Back 15

Paralysis of eyeball movement
Cause = lesion in brain stem or Cn III, IV, VI

Front 16

Opisthotonus

Back 16

Extreme arching of the back with retraction of the head
Cause = meningitis, tonic phase of a grand mal seizure

Front 17

Papilla edema

Back 17

Choke disc, swelling of the optic nerve head
Cause = Increased ICP