Autonomic Nervous System
This division controls skeletal muscle and is primarily responsible for voluntary movement
What is the somatic nervous system?
These structures receive incoming signals toward the neuron
What are dendrites?
This type of neuron lesion is associated with increased tone and hyperreflexia
What is a UMN lesion?
This sense tells you where your joints and body parts are positioned without looking at them
What is proprioception?
This cranial nerve carries visual information from the retina toward the brain
What is CN II, the optic nerve?
This division is associated with "fight or flight" including increased heart rate and decreased digestive activity
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
These cells produce myelin in the CNS
What are oligodendrocytes?
This tract is especially important for distal voluntary movement and fine motor control.
What is the lateral corticospinal tract?
A person loses the same side of the visual field in both eyes after a lesion posterior to the optic chiasm. What is this called?
What is homonymous hemianopsia?
CN VII controls this important facial function and also carries taste information from the anterior tongue.
What is facial expression and anterior taste?
Sympathetic preganglionic neurons originate from this general spinal cord region.
What is the thoracolumbar spinal cord?
Give two factors that increase axonal conduction velocity.
Larger axon diameter and myelination.
A patient has difficulty performing isolated finger movements after a stroke. They can move the hand, but individual movements are poorly separated. What motor concept is impaired?
What is fractionation of movement?
A patient can feel an object placed in their hand but cannot identify the object by touch alone, even though basic sensation is intact.
What is impaired stereognosis?
Which cranial nerve controls most extraocular movements, eyelid elevation, and pupil constriction?
What is CN III, the oculomotor nerve?
A person with a high spinal cord injury suddenly develops severe hypertension, headache, sweating above the injury, and other autonomic changes. What condition should you suspect?
What is autonomic dysreflexia?
After a severe peripheral nerve injury, the portion of the axon distal to the injury degenerates. What is this process called?
What is Wallerian degeneration?
A patient has bradykinesia, freezing, and difficulty initiating movement. Which major motor system should you suspect?
What are the basal ganglia?
A patient develops severe pain, edema, skin-color/temperature changes, and abnormal sensitivity after an injury. What condition should raise concern?
What is complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)?
A patient reports that objects appear doubled. Which visual/eye-movement problem does this describe?
What is diplopia?
A client with a high spinal cord injury develops a sudden pounding headache and very high blood pressure during an OT session. What is your priority concern, and why?
Autonomic dysreflexia. It is a medical safety priority because a noxious stimulus below the level of injury can trigger a dangerous autonomic response. The client requires immediate attention rather than simply continuing therapy.
A client recovering from a stroke becomes increasingly fatigued during intensive therapy. Why might limiting excessive neural stress be relevant to recovery?
Excitotoxicity involves excessive neuronal excitation that can contribute to neuronal damage. This is one reason overstimulation and fatigue management can matter during neurological recovery.
During finger-to-nose testing, a patient repeatedly overshoots the target. Which system would you investigate, and what broad impairment are you screening for?
The cerebellum; you're screening coordination/accuracy of movement. Abnormal finger-to-nose performance can suggest cerebellar dysfunction.
A patient with peripheral neuropathy has relatively preserved muscle strength but repeatedly loses balance while walking. Why can this happen?
Loss of sensory information/proprioception can impair awareness of foot and joint position even when muscles aren't paralyzed. The client may compensate by relying more heavily on vision.
A patient with a visual field deficit keeps bumping into objects on one side. What OT strategy would directly address the functional problem?
Scanning training to teach systematic exploration of the environment, along with environmental setup and safety strategies.