Aphasias
A nonfluent aphasia with telegraphic and grammatically incorrect speech, and impaired repetition; comprehension is largely spared, and the patient is typically aware of and frustrated by the deficits.
What is Broca aphasia?
This cranial nerve can be tested by asking a patient to detect and identify odors from a vial.
What is the Cranial Nerve I - Olfactory nerve?
What is the middle cerebral artery (MCA)?
Lesions here result in atrophy and fasciculations.
What is the Lower Motor Neuron (LMN)?
This category of reflexes is used to test the integrity of a sensory and motor neuron circuit.
What are the Deep Tendon Reflexes (DTRs)?
A type of fluent aphasia with impaired comprehension and impaired repetition. The patient is typically unaware of the deficits. Reading and writing are often severely impaired.
What is Wernicke aphasia?
This cranial nerve can be tested by asking the patient to open and close their mouth while the examiner inspects the masseter muscles for asymmetry and palpates them to investigate if there is pain elicited by palpation.
What is the Cranial Nerve V - Trigeminal Nerve?
What is the anterior cerebral artery (ACA)?
Lesions here result in central/spastic paresis, with increased tone, decreased power in muscle groups, and hyperreflexia.
What is the Upper Motor Neuron (UMN)?
This reflex is elicited by stroking the medial, inner part of the thigh. A normal response pulls up the testis on the same side of the body.
What is the cremasteric reflex?
A fluent aphasia that involves isolated difficulty finding words. Paraphrasing occurs when patients cannot find the word they seek.
What is anomic aphasia?
If this cranial nerve is intact, the patient should be able to taste sweet, salty, and sour food/drinks.
What is Cranial Nerve VII - Facial Nerve?
Lesions in this artery cause miosis, partial ptosis, and facial anhidrosis.
What is the common carotid artery?
(Horner syndrome)
Lesions here result in an upgoing (positive) Babinski sign.
What is the Upper Motor Neuron (UMN)?
On a scale of 0 to 4+, this grade of deep tendon reflex is considered normal in most circumstances.
What is 2+, brisk response?
The three locations of the lesions found in Global aphasia.
What are the Broca area, Wernicke area, and arcuate fasciculus (connection between Wernicke area and Broca area)?
This cranial nerve can be tested partially by using Ishihara plates.
What is Cranial Nerve II - Optic Nerve?
(Ishihara plates contain dots of different color and size and are used for testing color vision.)
Lesions in the posterior inferior cerebellar artery can cause this syndrome, which include symptoms of ataxia, vertigo, nystagmus, dysphagia, dysphonia, ipsilateral Horner syndrome and facial paresthesia, and contralateral limb paresthesia.
What is Wallenberg syndrome (aka, lateral medullary syndrome)?
Common etiologies of this lesion include Multiple Sclerosis, tumor, stroke, vitamin B12 deficiency, and ALS.
What is the Upper Motor Neuron (UMN)?
(ALS causes both UMN and LMN signs.)
When an examiner holds the patient's arm and taps the triceps tendon with a reflex hammer to induce an extension in the elbow joint, he is testing the reflex of which nerve root involved?
What is C7-C8, triceps reflex?
An aphasia caused by a lesion to the supplementary motor area in the frontal lobe, with Broca area intact, it causes difficulty initiating speech, expressing a thought process, and producing own phrases, while repetition and comprehension remain intact.
What is transcortical motor aphasia?
This cranial nerve can be tested by having the patient elevate their shoulder against resistance.
What is Cranial Nerve XI - Accessory Nerve?
A lesion in this artery can cause Medial Medullary Syndrome, which includes a triad of contralateral hemiparesis, contralateral loss of proprioception, fine touch, and vibration senses, and ipsilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy.
What is the anterior spinal artery?
Lesions here can cause overflow incontinence.
What is the Lower Motor Neuron (LMN)?
What is the Hoffman sign?
(Positive when there is quick flexion and adduction of the thumb and/or index finger on the same hand - test of the corticospinal tract.)