Understanding Motor and Sensory Aphasia: Causes, Symptoms, and Prognosis

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In summary, a patient with cortical blindness has difficulty seeing, due to damage to the cortex of the brain. The pupil reflex is impaired, and first symptoms of motor weakness may occur in the extremities near the level of the falx cerebri.
  • #1
boredooom
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I'm absolutely clueless so please help if you can...

- What is the difference between a motor and sensory aphasia?

- What happens to the pupil reflex in a patient with contical blindness?

- If a patient has a meningioma in the dura of the falx cerebri at the level of the precentral gyrus, what part of the body will show motor weakness first?

Thanks...
 
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  • #2
boredooom said:
I'm absolutely clueless so please help if you can...
I'm going to assume this is for a class, so am not going to answer outright.

- What is the difference between a motor and sensory aphasia?
What part of this do you need assistance with? Do you know what an aphasia is? If so, think about what differences might generally exist between any motor disorder and any sensory disorder, and see if you can apply those to the case of aphasia.

- What happens to the pupil reflex in a patient with contical blindness?
What is cortical blindness? Where does the impairment occur? Where is the reflex arc located?


- If a patient has a meningioma in the dura of the falx cerebri at the level of the precentral gyrus, what part of the body will show motor weakness first?
The key here is to think about where the falx cerebri is located relative to the precentral gyrus (i.e., what area of the precentral gyrus is going to be affected?), in other words, half the question is just identifying the anatomical relationship between the falx cerebri and the precentral gyrus. From there, you need to recall what parts of the precentral gyrus affect what parts of the body in order to identify the function.
 
  • #3
thanks for the (semi i suppose) help...

I have only learned one clinical thing about it in 4 weeks... but anyway if damage only one half of the spinal cord... You lose nociception (spinothalamic pathway) from the opposite side of the body and proprioception (dorsal column pathway) from the same side of the body as the damage... This is becase the spinothalamic crosses the midline in the spinal cord but the dorsal column pathway crosses in the brainstem...

But this is really all I know... and considering we have questions like Mr X has *list of 5 words you've never heard of*... and when you look them up it says that he can't talk, he has problems communication, he can't feel pain in this 3rd toe and he can jump on every day except for sunday... and then you find what does he have... and in the question it turned out to be something really weird - it turned out to be posterior cerebral artery blockage... i mean, how the hell am i supposed to know that?!... i don't even do clinical stuff now... only goes to show why you shouldn't work late... it is v counter productive
 
  • #4
This is very much how clinical cases present themselves though. Someone says, "Lately, my left big toe seems to be going numb," and you need to know how to trace back the pathway to figure out where the problem is occurring. Are any other toes numb? Any other body parts affected? Are reflexes intact? Any known injuries to extremities? It's problem solving.

Most of the terms are just anatomical locations, so you can look them up on a brain atlas. It seems like your instructor is trying to push you to take your lesson a step further, so you understand how the anatomy relates to the function, which is the relevant part of neuroscience.

A lot of it is tracing nerve pathways from periphery to where they join the CNS. It's somewhat like troubleshooting an electrical problem in your home...tracing circuits. A lightbulb in the basement is out, where is the problem? Is it just a burnt out bulb? Is there a short in the connection? Where? Are other lights on that circuit affected? Which ones? What about the rest of the house wiring? Are there lights controlled by the same switch that work? Where do the affected lights join into the circuit? Is the problem in a junction box, or all the way back at the circuit breaker? Studying functional neuroanatomy is very similar, but there are a LOT more connections (more like troubleshooting a power failure in a large city than a lightbulb out in your house).
 
  • #5
That's such a wonderful analogy, Moonbear.

You do know I plan on stealing it for a future essay exam.:devil: :biggrin:

Seriously, I thought that was a brilliant explanation.
 
  • #7
Moonbear said:
I'm going to assume this is for a class, so am not going to answer outright.

They were second year uni questions I had to answer...

What part of this do you need assistance with? Do you know what an aphasia is? If so, think about what differences might generally exist between any motor disorder and any sensory disorder, and see if you can apply those to the case of aphasia.

Yes, I do know what aphasia is... It is loss of ability to speak or understand language

Broca's aphasia - patient can't speak but can interpret speech

Wernicke's aphasia - patient can speak but can't interpret speech

What is cortical blindness? Where does the impairment occur? Where is the reflex arc located?

Cortical blindess is where you have no vision in your eyes... It is caused by complete loss of the primary visual corticies on the occipital lobe... but the responce to light 'pupillary reflex' is still functional... and so you still get pupilary contraction when you shine a light into the eye...

interestingly - well i thought it was interesting...

if you shine a light into the left eye on a normal person then both the pupils contract... i am not sure about the reflex arc - i did learn about it but it was a bit beyond me...

The key here is to think about where the falx cerebri is located relative to the precentral gyrus (i.e., what area of the precentral gyrus is going to be affected?), in other words, half the question is just identifying the anatomical relationship between the falx cerebri and the precentral gyrus. From there, you need to recall what parts of the precentral gyrus affect what parts of the body in order to identify the function

Yes, I understand this now... Connecting neuroanatomy to function is tough though...
 
  • #8
Moonbear said:
This is very much how clinical cases present themselves though. Someone says, "Lately, my left big toe seems to be going numb," and you need to know how to trace back the pathway to figure out where the problem is occurring. Are any other toes numb? Any other body parts affected? Are reflexes intact? Any known injuries to extremities? It's problem solving.

Most of the terms are just anatomical locations, so you can look them up on a brain atlas. It seems like your instructor is trying to push you to take your lesson a step further, so you understand how the anatomy relates to the function, which is the relevant part of neuroscience.

A lot of it is tracing nerve pathways from periphery to where they join the CNS. It's somewhat like troubleshooting an electrical problem in your home...tracing circuits. A lightbulb in the basement is out, where is the problem? Is it just a burnt out bulb? Is there a short in the connection? Where? Are other lights on that circuit affected? Which ones? What about the rest of the house wiring? Are there lights controlled by the same switch that work? Where do the affected lights join into the circuit? Is the problem in a junction box, or all the way back at the circuit breaker? Studying functional neuroanatomy is very similar, but there are a LOT more connections (more like troubleshooting a power failure in a large city than a lightbulb out in your house).

Ok... I do understand things better now... I was just a bit swamped by info a few weeks ago and it takes a while to digest it... and it takes awhile to learn the lingo...

I understand the signs of lower motoneurone and upper motoneurone lesions... so that's a lot of conditions covered already... and I know about some visual defects - monooccural blindness, bitemporal hemianopias + homozygous hemianopia... Broca's and Wernicke's Aphasias and Brown-Sequard's syndrome...
 
  • #9
Revenged said:
Ok... I do understand things better now... I was just a bit swamped by info a few weeks ago and it takes a while to digest it... and it takes awhile to learn the lingo...

Yes, the terminology is half the battle. :biggrin: Welcome to PF (if a bit belated). I've heard of people copying homework answers before, but this is the first I've seen someone copy the questions. I guess they were too curious to wait for the answers received elsewhere. :rofl:
 
  • #10
Moonbear said:
Yes, the terminology is half the battle. :biggrin: Welcome to PF (if a bit belated).

Thanks... it did take me a while to realize what PF stood for... lol
 

1. What is neuroscience?

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It involves understanding the structure, function, and development of the nervous system, as well as how it relates to behavior and cognition.

2. How does neuroscience help us understand the brain?

Neuroscience helps us understand the brain by using a variety of methods, such as brain imaging techniques and studying the effects of brain injuries or diseases. By studying the structure and function of the brain, neuroscientists can gain insight into how it processes information and controls behavior.

3. What are some real-world applications of neuroscience?

Neuroscience has many real-world applications, including improving treatments for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, developing new therapies for mental health conditions, and enhancing our understanding of how we learn and make decisions.

4. How can neuroscience be used in education?

Neuroscience can be used in education to inform teaching methods and strategies. By understanding how the brain processes information and learns, educators can design more effective ways of teaching and promoting learning. Neuroscience can also help identify and address learning disabilities or difficulties.

5. What are some current areas of research in neuroscience?

Some current areas of research in neuroscience include studying the mechanisms of memory and learning, exploring the role of the brain in social behavior and decision making, and investigating the causes and potential treatments for neurological disorders. Other areas of interest include the effects of exercise, diet, and sleep on brain function and the development of artificial intelligence and brain-computer interfaces.

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