Key Terms
Localization of function
Specific, circumscribed anatomical locations are responsible for specific functions.
Four cognitive ability groups tested
1. Orientation and memory 2.
Example
Posterior parietal cortex coordinates visual and motor functions such as reaching for an object.
Orientation
Awareness of time (date, situation), place, and personal identity. Tested by direct questioning.
Patient HM case
Bilateral medial temporal lobectomy in 1953 to treat epilepsy. Result: anterograde amnesia (could not form new episodic
Prefrontal cortex test
Set generation. Patient lists words starting with the same letter (no proper nouns) within 1 minute.
Conduction aphasia
Damage to the white matter tracts connecting Broca's and Wernicke's areas. Results in inability to faithfully repeat spo
Sensorium
The brain regions involved in conscious sensory reception and interpretation.
Praxis
The patient performs a task based solely on verbal instructions, with no physical demonstration. Tests ability to unders
Gnosis
Two subtests:
V-N dissociation
Some aphasias affect verbs (V impairment, associated with frontal-temporal junction including the insula) or nouns (N im
CN I - Olfactory
Smell. Tested with common odors (coffee, mint) presented to each nostril separately.
CN II - Optic
Vision. Two subtests:
CN VIII - Vestibulocochlear
Equilibrium (vestibular) and hearing (cochlear). Problems with one often accompany problems with the other because of an
Unilateral sensorineural loss
Fork sounds quieter in the damaged ear.