Development of Neuropsychology
Damage to this brain area results in slow, effortful speech but preserved comprehension.
Broca's area
What psychological factor can worsen post-concussion symptoms?
Post-injury anxiety
Which cranial nerves control eye movement?
CN III (oculomotor), IV (trochlear), VI (abducens)
A patient has numbness and difficulty moving their lower jaw. Which division of the nervous system and which cranial nerve are affected?
Somatic nervous system
Trigeminal nerve (CNV)
This pseudoscience claimed personality traits could be determined by bumps on the skull.
Phrenology
A 32-year-old woman experiences fatigue, numbness, muscle spasms, and difficulty walking. MRI shows white-matter scarring. What condition is most likely?
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
Which cranial nerve supplies the muscles of mastication?
Trigeminal nerve (CNV)
A patient reports progressive memory loss, difficulty forming new memories, and occasional seizures. MRI reveals a slow-growing, well-contained mass in the medial temporal lobe. Which brain structure and type of tumor are most likely involved?
Hippocampus
Benign tumor
What type of aphasia results in fluent but meaningless speech with poor comprehension?
Wernicke's aphasia
Bonus: What is another name for Wernicke's aphasia?
Excess phosphorylated tau disrupts neurons by damaging what intracellular structure?
Microtubules
What is the Rinne test?
Place a sounding tuning fork on the patient's mastoid process, then next to their ear and ask which is louder
Bonus: Which position should healthy individuals report as louder?
A patient was hit in the head during a sports game and now has headache, dizziness, and brief confusion, but routine imaging shows no fractures. To rule out any vascular damage, which diagnostic procedure should be performed, and what type of brain injury does the patient have?
Angiogram
Concussion
A patient cannot recognize common objects by sight but can identify them by touch. Which stream is affected?
Ventral stream
What are the 4 cells that are invaded by HIV?
- Microglia
- Macrophages
- Astrocytes
- Vascular endothelial cells
A patient presents with headache, nausea, and diplopia. Imaging is negative. A cerebral angiogram shows no aneurysm. Which next step could help rule out infection or tumor?
Lumbar puncture
A patient diagnosed with an HIV infection presents with hearing loss, balance problems, motor and cognitive disturbances. Which cranial nerve is likely affected, and based on the neurological symptoms, what stage of HIV infection is most likely?
Vestibulocochlear nerve (CNVIII)
Advanced HIV
What are the steps in Wernicke's model?
1. Sound sensations are enter auditory pathway and travels to the temporal lobes from the ears
2. Sounds are processed into auditory representations and stored in Wernicke's area
3. Auditory images are sent to Broca's area via the arcuate fasciculus
4. Articulation of auditory images via motor pathway
A patient has a slow-growing brain tumor that initially responds to surgery but shows regrowth years later. What tumor grade best fits this pattern?
Grade II
A 55-year-old patient presents with hoarseness, difficulty swallowing, and a uvula that deviates to the left when they say “ahh.” They also have impaired gag reflex on the right side. Which cranial nerve is affected, and what is the likely side of the lesion?
Vagus nerve (CNX)
A patient suddenly develops difficulty guiding their hand to grasp a cup, often misreaching despite being able to accurately describe the cup’s shape and color. Imaging reveals a blocked blood vessel supplying the parietal lobe. Which visual processing pathway is likely affected, and what type of brain injury has occurred?
Dorsal stream
Stroke