NEURO terms 2
Terms
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- Vertigo
- sensation of movement of one's body or of objects moving about or spinning
- Sensory integrity
- is the ability to organize and use sensory information.
- Kinesthesia
- awareness of movement
- Arousal
- is the physiological readiness of the human system for activity
- Alert
- pt is awake and attentive to normal levels of stimulation
- Lethargic
- pt appears drowsy and may fall asleep
- Obtunded
- pt is difficult to arouse from a somnolent state and is frequently confused when awake
- Stupor/Semicoma
- pt responds only to strong, generally noxious stimuli and returns to unconscious state when the stimulation is stopped.
- Coma/deep coma
- pt cannot be aroused by any type of stimulation
- Attention
- is awareness of the environment or responsiveness to a stimulus or task without being distracted by other stimuli.
- Orientation
- refers to the pt's awareness of time, person, and place
- Cognition
- is defined as the process of knowing and includes both awareness and judgement.
- Fund of knowledge
- is defined as the sum total of an individual's learning and experience in life.
- Calculation ability
- assesses foundational mathematical abilities.
- Acalculia
- inability to calculate
- Dyscalculia
- difficulty ion accomplishing calculations
- Exteroceptors
- responsible for the superficial sensations
- Proprioceptors
- responsible for deep sensations
- Mechanoreceptors
- which respond to mechnical deformation of the receptor
- Thermoreceptors
- which respond to changes in temperature
- Nociceptors
- which respond to noxious stimuli
- Chemoreceptors
- which respond to chemical substances
- Photic/electromagnetic
- which respond to light within the visible spectrum
- Free nerve endings
- they r found throughout the body. their stimulation results in perception of pain,temperature,touch,pressure,tickle,and itch sensations.
- Hair follicle endings
- they are sensitive to mechanical movement and touch.
- Merkel's discs
- they r located below the epidermis in hairy and glabrous skin.they are sensitive to low-intensity touch, as well as velocity of touch.they r important in both two-point discrimination and localization of touch.
- Ruffini endings
- located in the deeper layers of the dermis.involved with perception of touch and pressure.
- Krause's end-bulb
- located in the dermis. perceive touch and pressure.
- Meissner's corpuscles
- located in the dermis. perceive discriminative touch and the recognition of texture.
- Pacinian corpuscles
- located in subcutaneous tissue layer of skin. perceive deep touch and vibration.
- Muscle spindles
- they lie in a parallel arrangement to the muscle fibers. help in position and movement sense and in motor learning.
- Golgi tendon organs
- located in series at both the proximal and distal tendinous insertions of the muscle. function: 1) monitor tension with the muscle 2) provide protective mechanism
- Free nerve endings in muscle
- located in fascia of muscle. respond to pain and pressure
- Pacinian corpuscles in muscle
- respond to vibratory stimuli and deep pressure
- Free nerve endings in joints
- found in joint capsule and ligaments. respond to pain and crude awareness of joint motion
- Ruffini endings in joints
- located in joint capsule and ligaments. responsible for the direction and velocity of joint movement.
- Paciniform endings in joints
- they are found in joint capsule. monitors rapid joint movements.
- how to test pain
- instrument - safety pin or reshaped paperclip. test - sharp point applied on pt's skin. response - pt asked to verbally indicate site of pain
- how to test temperature
- instrument - 2 test tubes with stoppers - one filled with warm water (104-113 deg F) and one filled with crushed ice (41 - 50 deg F test - test tubes are randomly placed in contact with the skin area to be tested. response - pt is asked to indicate if stimulus is felt and if warm/cold
- how to test light touch
- instrument - camel hair brush, piece of cotton test - area to be tested is lightly touched or stroked. response - pt asked to indicate if stimulus is felt.
- how to test pressure
- instrument - therapist's thumb test - apply firm pressure on skin response - indicate if stimulus is felt
- how to test kinesthesia
- TEST - joint to be assessed is moved passively through small ROM ; RESPONSE - pt asked to indicate direction of movement verbally, describe direction and ROM
- how to test proprioception
- TEST - jt to be assessed is moved through small ROM and held static ; RESPONSE - pt asked to describe motion verbally
- how to test vibration
- INSTRUMENT - tuning fork which vibrates at 128 Hz ; TEST - place base of vibrating fork on bony prominence ; RESPONSE - if intact , pt perceives vibration. pt is also asked if fork is vibrating/nonvibrating
- how to test tactile object recognition/stereognosis
- INSTRUMENT - items differing in shape and size ; TEST - pt is given an object ; RESPONSE - pt is asked to name the object verbally
- how to test tactile localization
- TEST - using fingertip therapist touches different skin surfaces ; RESPONSE - pt asked to identify area of stimulation
- how to test two-point discrimination
- this test is a measure of the smallest distance between two stimuli that can still be perceived as 2 distinct stimuli.TEST - 2 tips of instrument are applied to the skin simultaneously. the 2 tips are gradually brought closer until the stimuli are perceived as one. the smallest distance is measured with ruler. RESPONSE - pt asked to identify the perception of one or 2 stimuli
- how to test double simultaneous stimulation (DSS)
- TEST - therapist touches 1)identical location on opposite sides of the body, 2) proximally and distaly on opp sides of body 3) proximal and distal location on same side of body RESPONSE - pt states verbally when he perceives a touch stimulus and the number of stimuli felt.
- how to test recognition of weight (barognosis)
- TEST - place series of different wts of same size on the pt's hand. RESPONSE - pt asked to identify wt of object
- how to test traced figure identification/graphesthesia
- TEST - a series of letters, numbers or design is traced on the palm of pt's hand. RESPONSE - pt asked to identify the figures verbally
- how to test recognition of texture
- TEST - items of different textures are palced in pt's hand RESPONSE - pt asked to identify textures
- Hypotonia
- is a decrease in muscle tone
- Abarognosis
- inability to recognize weight
- Allesthesia
- sensation experienced at a site remote from point of stimulation
- Allodynia
- pain produced by non-noxious stimulus
- Analgesia
- complete loss of pain sensibility
- Anesthesia
- loss of sensation
- Astereognosis
- inability to recognize the form and shape of objects by touch
- Atopognosia
- inability to localize a sensation
- Causalgia
- painful, burning sensations, usually along the distribution of a nerve.
- Dysesthesia
- touch sensation experienced as pain
- Hypalgesia
- decreased sensitivity to pain
- Hyperalgesia
- increased sensitivity to pain
- Hyperesthesia
- increased sensitivity to sensory stimuli
- Hypesthesia
- decreased sensitivity to sensory stimuli
- Pallesthesia
- ability to perceive or to recognize vibratory stimuli
- Paresthesia
- abnormal sensation such as numbness, prickling or tingling, without apparent cause.
- Thermanalgesia
- inability to perceive heat
- Thermanesthesia
- inability to perceive sensations of heat or cold
- Thermesthesia
- ability to perceive heat and cold sensations, temperature sensibility
- Thermhyperesthenia
- increased sensitivity to temperature
- Thermhypesthesia
- decreased temperature sensibility
- Thigmanesthesia
- loss of light touch sensibility
- Barognosis
- ability to recognize weight
- Graphesthesia
- recognition of numbers, letters,or symbols traced on the skin
- Stereognosis
- the ability to recognize the shape of objects by touch
- Dysmetria
- impaired ability to judge the distance or range of a movement
- Hypermetria
- excessive distance or range of a movement;an overestimation of the required motion needed to reach a target object
- Hypometria
- shortened distance or ROM; an underestimation of the required motion needed to reach a target object
- Dysdiadochokinesia
- impaired ability to perform rapid alternating movements
- Tremor
- an involuntary oscillatory movement resulting from alternate contractions of opposing muscle groups
- Intention tremor
- occurs during voluntary motion of a limb and tends to increase as the limb nears its intended goal or speed is increased.
- Postural (static) tremor
- back-and-forth oscillatory movements of the body while pt maintains a standing posture
- dyssynergia
- impaired ability to associate muscles together for complex movement;decomposition of movement
- movement decomposition
- performance of a movement in a sequence of component parts rather than as a single smooth activity
- Asynergia
- loss of ability to associate muscles together for complex movements
- Dysarthria
- disorder of the motor component of speech disarticulation
- Scanning speech
- a speech pattern that is slow,and may be slurred,hesitant,with prolonged syllables and inappropriate pauses; the melodic quality of speech is altered
- Nystagmus
- rhythmic,oscillatory movement of the eyes
- Check reflex
- when application of resistance to an isometric contraction is suddenly removed,the limb will remain in approximately the same position by action of the opposing muscle. with cerebellar involvement the pt is unable to check the motion
- Rebound phenomenon
- absence of check reflex
- Asthenia
- generalized muscle weakness associated with cerebellar lesions
- Bradykinesia
- extreme slowness and difficulty maintaining movement
- Rigidity
- increase in muscle tone;results in greater resistance to passive movement
- Leadpipe rigidity
- is a uniform,constant resistance felt by the examiner as the extremity is moved through a ROM
- Cogwheel rigidity
- is characterized by a series of brief relaxations or catches as the extremity is passively moved.
- Ataxia
- is a general term used to describe uncoordinated movement;may influence gait,posture and patterns of movements
- Resting tremor
- present when involved body segment is at rest;typically dissapears of decreases with purposeful movement
- Akinesia
- inability to initiate movement;seen in parkinson's disease
- Chorea
- involuntary,rapid,irregular,jerky movements;clinical feature of huntington's disease
- Athetosis
- slow,involuntary,writhing,twisting,wormlike movements;clinical feature of some forms of CP
- Choreoathetosis
- movement disorder with features of both chorea and athetosis;seen in some forms of CP
- Hemiballismus
- sudden,jerky,forceful,wild,flailing motions of one side of the body
- Hyperkinesis
- abnormally increased muscle activity or movement;restlessness
- Hypokinesis
- decreased motor responses ;sluggishness,listlessness
- Dystonia
- a hyperkinetic movement disorder characterized by impaired or disordered tone, accompanied by repetitive involuntary movements;typically twisting or writhing motions
- Rhomberg's sign
- inability to maintain standing balance when vision is occluded
- Motor program
- a set of commands that,when initiated,results in the productionof a coordinated movement sequence
- Motor plan
- an idea or plan for purposeful movement that is made up of several component motor programs
- Feedback
- response-produced information received during or after the movement used to monitor output for corrective actions
- Feedforward
- the sending of signals in advance of movement to ready the sensorimotor systems and allow for anticipatory adjustments in postural acticity
- Coordination
- the patterning of body and limb motions relative to the patterning of environmental objects and events
- Consciousness
- a state of awareness;implies orientation to person,place and time
- vegetative state
- a continuing and unremitting condition of complete awareness of self and the environment,accompanied by sleep-wake cycles with preservation of hypothalamic and brainstem autonomic functions
- Persistane vegetative state
- a vegetative state with a duration of one yr or more, the result of severe brain injury or diffuse cerebral hypoxia
- Wernicke's aphasia/fluent aphasia
- speech that flows smoothly but contains errors,neologisms (nonsense words),paraphasias(misuse of words),and circumlocutions(word substitution)
- Broca's aphasia/nonfluent aphasia
- speech that is slow and hesitant with limited vocablury and impaired syntax
- Declarative memory/explicit memory
- the conscious recollection of facts and events
- Nondeclarative memory/motor memory
- the recall of skills and procedures (nonconscious or implicit memory)
- Amnesia
- loss of memory
- Retrograde amnesia
- Amnesia for events that occured before the precipitating trauma
- Anterograde amnesia
- Amnesia for events that occured after a precipitating trauma
- End feel
- refers to the characteristic feel each specific joint has at the end ROM
- Tone
- the resistance of muscles to passive elongation or stretch
- Hypertonia
- state of increased tone above normal resting levels
- Spasticity
- increased tone or resistance of muscle causing stiff awkward movements; the result of an UMN
- Clonus
- cyclical,spasmodic alteration of muscular contraction and relaxation in response to a sustained stretch of a spastic muscle
- Clasp-knife response
- a sudden relaxation or letting go of a spastic muscle in response to a stretch stimulus
- Babinski sign
- dorsiflexion of the great toe with fanning of the other toes on stimulation of the lateral sole of the foot
- Decorticate rigidity
- sustained contraction and posturing of the trunk and LL in extension,and the UL in flexion;results from a lesion at the level of the diencephalon (above the superior colliculus)
- Decerebrate rigidity
- sustained contraction and posturing of the trunk and limbs in a position of full extension;results from a lesion in the brainstem between the superior colliculi and vestibular nucleus
- Opisthotonus
- strong and sustained contraction of the extensor muscles of the neck and trunk
- Flaccidity
- absence of muscle tone
- Jaw reflex (trigeminal nerve)
- STIMULUS - pt is sitting,with jaw relaxed and slightly open.place finger on top of chin;tap downward on top of finger in a direction which causes the jaw to open RESPONSE - jaw rebounds
- Biceps reflex (C5,C6)
- STIMULUS - pt is sitting with arm flexed and supported.place thimb over the biceps tendon in the cubital fossa,stretching it slightly.tap thumb or directly on the tendon RESPONSE - slight contraction of muscle normally occurs (elbow flexes)
- Triceps reflex (C7,C8)
- RESPONSE - pt is sitting with arm supported in abduction,elbow flexed.palpate triceps tendon just above olecranon.tap directly on tendon. RESPONSE - slight contraction of muscle normally occurs(elbow extends)
- Hamstring reflex (L5,S1,S2)
- STIMULUS - pt is prone with knee semiflexed and supported.palpate tendon at the knee.tap on finger or directly on tendon. RESPONSE - slight contraction of muscle normally occurs(knee flexes)
- Patellar reflex(L2,L3,L4)
- STIMULUS - pt is sitting with knee flexed,foot unsupported.tap tendon of quadriceps muscle between the patella and tibial tuberosity RESPONSE - contraction of muscle normally occurs (knee extends)
- Ankle reflex (S1,S2)
- STIMULUS - pt is prone with foot over the end of the plinth or sitting with knee flexed and foot held in slight dorsiflexion.tap tendon just above its insertion on the calcaneus.maintaining slight tension on the gastrocnemius-soleus group improves the response. RESPONSE - slight contraction of muscle normally occurs (foot plantarflexes)
- Plantar reflex (S1,S2)
- STIMULUS - with a large pin or fingertip,stroke up the lateral side of the foot,moving from the heel to the base of the little toe and then across the ball of the foot NORMAL RESPONSE - slow flexion(plantarflexion) of the great toe,and sometimes the other toes. ABNORMAL RESPONSE - termed a positive Babinski,is a extension (dorsiflexion) of the great toe with fanning of the 4 other toes(typically seen in UMN (corticospinal) lesions)
- Chaddock reflex
- STIMULUS - stroke around lateral ankle and up lateral aspect of foot to the base of the little toe. NORMAL RESPONSE - slow flexion (plantar flexion) of the gr8 toe,and sometimes the other toes. ABNORMAL RESPONSE - termed a positive Babinski,is a extension (dorsiflexion) of the great toe with fanning of the 4 other toes(typically seen in UMN (corticospinal) lesions)
- Abdominal (T7-12)
- STIMULUS - position pt in supine position,relaxed.make quick,light stroke with a large pin or fingertip over the skin of the abdominals from the periphery to the unbilicus(test each abdominal quadrant separately) RESPONSE - localized contraction under the stimulus,causing the unbilicus to move toward the quadrant stimulated.
- Flexor withdrawl reflex - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - noxious stimuli(pinprick)to sole fo foot.tested in supine or sitting position. RESPONSE - toes extend,foot dorsiflexes,entire leg flexes uncontrollably. ONSET - 28 weeks gestation INTEGRATED - 1-2 months
- Micrographia
- an abnormally small handwriting that is difficult to read.
- Festinating gait
- abnormal gait characterized by an involuntary progressive increase in the speed with a shortening of stride
- Propulsive gait
- a festinating gait that has a forward accelerating quality
- Retropulsive gait
- a festinating gait that has a backward accelerating quality
- Sialohrrea
- excessive drooling. seen in parkinsonism
- Hypokinetic dysarthria
- difficult and defective speech characterized by decreased voice volume,monotone/monopitch speech,imprecise or distorted articulation,and uncontrolled speech rate.seen in PD
- Mutism
- condition of being unable to speak or speaking only in whispers
- Postural stress syndrome
- fluctuations in motor performance and response;seen with long-term use of L-dopa therapy
- Akathisia/acathisia
- extreme motor restlessness
- Bradyphrenia
- a disorder of intellectual function characterized by a slowing of thought processes with lack of concentration and attention.
- Stereotaxic surgery
- surgical lesioning of brain
- Pallidotomy
- a destructive lesion is produced in the BG,the globus pallidus internus
- Thalamotomy
- a destructive lesion is produced within the thalamus,the ventral intermediate nucleus
- Dysphagia
- inability to swallow or difficulty in swallowing
- Dyskinesia
- involuntary movements;often associated with long-term use of L-dopa therapy
- Charcot's triad
- cardinal symptoms of MS include intention tremor,scanning speech,nystagmus
- Crossed extension - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - noxious stimulus to ball of foot of extremity fixed in extension;tested in supine position RESPONSE - opposite LL flexes,then adducts and extends. ONSET - 28 weeks gestation INTEGRATED: 1-2 months
- Traction - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - grasp forearm and pull up from supine into sitting position RESPONSE - grasp and total flexion of the UL. ONSET - 28 weeks gestation INTEGRATED: 2-5 months
- Moro - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - sudden change in posiiton of head in relation to trunk;drop pt backward from sitting position RESPONSE - extension,abduction of UL,hand opening,and crying followed by flexion,adduction of arms,crying ONSET - birth INTEGRATED : 5-6 months
- Startle - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - sudden loud or harsh noise RESPONSE - sudden extension or abduction of arms,crying ONSET - birth INTEGRATED: persists
- primitive / spinal reflexes
- flexor withdrawl, crossed extension, traction, moro, stratle, grasp
- Grasp - primitive/spinal reflexes
- STIMULUS - maintained pressure to palm of hand (palmar grasp) or to ball of foot under toes (plantar grasp) RESPONSE - maintained flexion of fingers or toes. ONSET - palmar - birth; plantar - 28 weeks gestation INTEGRATED : palmar - 4-6 months; plantar - 9 months
- Asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR) - tonic/brainstem reflexes
- STIMULUS - rotation of the head to one side RESPONSE - flexion of skull limbs and extension of jaw limbs "bow and arrow" or "fencing " posture ONSET- birth INTEGRATED : 4-6 months
- Symmetrical tonic neck reflex (STNR) -tonic/brainstem reflexes
- STIMULUS - flexion or extension of the head RESPONSE - with head flexion : flexion of arms,extension of legs , with head extension : extension of arms,flexion of legs ONSET - 4-6 months INTEGRATED : 8-12 months
- Symmetrical tonic labyrinthine (TLR) - tonic/brainstem reflexes
- STIMULUS - prone or supine position RESPONSE - with prone posiiton:increased flexor tone/flexion of all limbs ; with supine: increased tone/extension of all limbs ONSET - birth INTEGRATED : 6 months
- Positive supporting - tonic/brainstem reflexes
- STIMULUS - contact to the ball of the foot in upright standing position RESPONSE - rigid extension (co-contraction) of the LL ONSET - birth INTEGRATED : 6 months
- Associated reactions - tonic/brainstem reflexes
- STIMULUS - resisted voluntary movement in any part of the body RESPONSE - involuntary movement in a resting extremity ONSET - birth - 3 months INTEGRATED - 8-9 yrs
- tonic/brainstem reflexes
- ATNR,STNR,TLR,associated reaction, postive supporting
- midbrain/cortical reflexes
- NOB,BOB,labyrinthine head righting,optical righting,BOH, protective extension,equilibrium reactions - tilting, equilibirum reactions - postural fixation
- neck righting action on the body (NOB) - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - passively turn head to one side;tested in supine RESPONSE - body rotates as a whole(log rolls) to align the body with the head ONSET - 4-6 months INTEGRATED: 5 yrs
- body righting acting on the body (BOB) - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - passively rotate upper or lower trunk segment;tested in supine RESPONSE - body segment not rotated follows to align the body segments. ONSET - 4-6 months INTEGRATED: persists
- Labyinthine head righting (LR) - midbrain/cortical reflex
- STIMULUS - occlude vision; alter body position by tipping body in all directions RESPONSE - head orients to vertical position with mouth horizontal ONSET - birth-2 months INTEGRATED : persists
- optical righting (OR) - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - alter body position by tipping body in all directions RESPONSE - head orients to vertical position with mouth horizontal ONSET - birth - 2 months
- Body righting acting on head (BOH) - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - place in prone or supine position RESPONSE - head orients to vertical position with mouth horizontal ONSET - birth-2 months INTEGRATED : 5 yrs
- Protective extension - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - displace COG outside the base of support RESPONSE - arms or legs extend and abduct to support and to protect the body against falling. ONSET - arms: 4-6 months; legs : 6-9 months INTEGRATED : persists
- Equilibrium reaction - tilting - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - displace the COG by tilting or moving the support surface (eg. with a movable object such as an equilibrium board or ball) RESPONSE - curvature of trunk toward the upward side along with extension and abduction of the extremities on that side; protective extension on the opposite (downward)side ONSET - prone 6 months; supine 7-8 months; sitting 7-8 months; quadruped 9-12 months; standing 12-21 months INTEGRATED : persists
- Equilibrium reacions - postural fixation - midbrain/cortical reflexes
- STIMULUS - apply a displacing force to the body,altering the COG in its relation to the base of support; can also be observed during voluntary activity RESPONSE - curvature of the trunk toward the external force with extension and abduction of the extremities on the side to which the force was applied. ONSET - prone 6 months; supine 7-8 months; sitting 7-8 months; quadruped 9-12 months; standing 12-21 months INTEGRATED : persists
- Muscle endurance
- the ability to contract the muscle repeatedly over a period of time
- Fatigue
- the failure to generate the required or expected force during sustained or repeated contractions
- Exhaustion
- the limit of endurance beyond which no further performance is possible
- Abnormal synergy
- an obligatory high stereotyped mass pattern of movement
- Postural orientation
- the control of relative positions of body parts by skeletal muscles with respect to gravity and to each other
- Reactive control
- control that occurs in response to external forces displacing the Center Of Mass or movement of the BOS.
- Proactive (anticipatory) control
- control that occurs in anticipation of internallt generated destabilizing forces imposed on the body's own movements
- Adaptive control
- control that allows the individual to appropriately modify the sensorimotor systems in response to changing task and environmental demands
- Limits of stability
- the maximum angle from vertical that can be tolerated without a loss of balance
- Mobility
- initial movement in a functional patttern;ROM is available for movement to occur and there is sufficient motor unit activity to initiate muscle contraction
- Stability (static postural control)
- the ability to maintain a steady position in a wt bearing,antigravity posture
- Controlled mobility (dynamic postural control)
- the ability to maintain postural control during wt shifting and movement
- Static-dynamic control
- the ability to shift wt onto support segments, freeing up a limb for dynamic activities
- Skill
- highly coordinated mobvement that allows for investigation and interaction with the physical and social environment
- Closed skill
- motor skill performed in a stable, nonchanging environment
- Open skill
- motor skill performed in a variable,changing environment
- Motor learning
- a set of internal processes associated with practice or experience leading to relatively permanent changes in the capability for skilled behavior
- Retention test
- a performance test administered after a period of no practice (retention interval) for the purposes fo assessing learning
- Generalizability
- the extent to which practice on one task contributes to the performance of other related skills
- Artifact
- voltage signals generated by a source other than the one of interest
- Movement artifact
- an electrical signal resulting from the movement of the recording electrodes or their cables
- Stimulus artifact
- a potential recorded at the time the stimulus is applied
- Electromyography
- the recording and study of the electrical activity of muscle.
- Nerve conduction velocity
- the speed with which a peripheral motor or sensory nerve conducts an impulse
- Motor unit action potential
- action potential reflecting the electrical activity of a single motor unit capable of being recorded by an electrode. characterized by its amplitude,configuration,duration,frequency,sound
- Motor unit
- the anatomical of an anterior horn cell,its axon,the neuromuscular junctions and all the muscle fibers innervated by that axon
- Electrode
- a device capable of recording electrical potentials or conducting electricity to provide a stimulus
- Active electrode
- a bipolar electrode configuration with fixed interelectrode geometry and preamplifiers at the detection site
- Ground electrode
- an electrode connected to a common source,used to reduce the effect of electrical noise in a recording system;an arbitrary zero potential reference point
- Recording electrode
- needle or surface electrode used to record electrical activity from nerve and muscle
- Reference electrode
- in motor nerve conduction velocity test, the electrode placed over the tendon of the test muscle. in monopolar recording of EMG, the inactive electrode is placed over a neutral area
- Stimulating electrode
- device used to apply electrical current to stimulate propagation of a nerve impulse or muscle contraction;requires positive (anode) and negative (cathode) terminals
- Surface electrodes
- small metal disks applied to the skin overlying the appropriate musle and used to monitor EMG signals from large,superficial muscles
- Conduction velocity
- speed of propagation of an action potential along a nerve or muscle fiber. calculated in meters/sec
- Crosstalk
- activity seen at one electrode site there is generated by a muscle other than the one being monitored
- Electrical silence
- the absence of measurable EMG activity,typically recorded at rest in normal muscles
- Evoked potential
- waveform elicited by a stimulus.
- Fasciculation potentials
- electrical activity characterized by random,spontaneous twitching of a group of muscle fibers which may be visible through the skin.the amplitude,configuration,duration,and frequency are variable
- Fibrillation potential
- electrical activity associated with fibrillating muscle and reflecting the activity of a single muscle fiber;associated with denervation and myopathy.these potentials are biphasic spikes of short duration,with a peak-to-peak amplitude less than 1 millivolt,a firing rate ranging from 1-50 hertz,and a high pitched regular sound likened to "rain on the roof"
- Giant motor units
- motor unit potentials with a peak to peak amplitude and duration much greater than normal ranges.often seen after collateral sprouting with regenartion of peripheral nerves
- Insertion activity
- electrical activity caused by insertion or movementof a needle electrode in a muscle.can be described as normal,reduced,increased,or prolonged
- Interference pattern
- electrical activity,recorded from a muscle during maximal voluntary effort,in which identification of each of the contributing motor unit potentials is not possible
- Latency
- in nerve conduction velocity tests,the interval between onset of a stimulus and the onset of a response,measured from the stimulus artifact to the onset of the M wave
- polyphasic potentials
- action potentials having five or more phases
- Positive sharp waves
- electrical potentials associated with fibrillating muscle fibers,recorded as a biphasic,positive-negative action potential initiated by needle movement and recurring in uniform patterns. the initial positive phase is of short duration and large amplitude and the second negative phase is of long duration and low amplitude
- Repetitive discharges
- in extended train of potentials,generally 5 to 100 impulses per second,commonly seen in lesions of the anterior horn cell and peripheral nerves,and with some myopathies
- Spontaneous potentials
- action potentials recorded from muscle or nerve at rest after insertional activity has subsided and when there is no voluntary contraction or external stimulus
- Volume conduction
- spread of current from a potential source through a conducting medium,such as body tissues.
- Stance phase
- the portion of gait in ehich one extremity is in contact with the ground.
- Swing phase
- the phase of gait during which the reference limb is not in contact with the supporting surface
- Double support time
- the priod of the gait cycle when both LL are in contact with the supporting surface (double support);measured in seconds
- Step
- consists of 2 dimensions;a distance and time;two steps comprise a stride
- Stride
- consists of 2 dimensions; a distance and time
- Swing time
- the number of seconds during the gait cycle that one foot is off the ground.swing time shd be measured seperately for right and left extremities
- Step length
- the linear distanc between 2 successive points of contact of the right and left LL. measurement taken from the point of heel contact at heel strike on one extremity to the point of heel contact of the opposite extremity
- Step time
- the number of seconds between consecutive right and left foot contacts;both right and left step times shd be measured
- Stride length
- the linear distance between 2 consecutive foot contacts of the same LL. measurement is taken from the point of one heel contact at heel strike and the next heel contact of the same extremity
- Sride time
- the number of seconds that elapses during one stride (from one foot contact until the next contact of the same foot)
- Kinematics
- a description of the type,amount,and direction of motion;does not include the forces producing the motion
- Kinetics
- the study of forces that cause motion
- Motor control
- an area of study dealing with the understanding of the neural,physical,and behavioral aspects of movement
- Associative stage of learning
- the second or middle stage of learning in which hte skill strategy has been selected;refinement of the skill is achieved through continued practice
- Autonomous stage of motor learning
- the third stage of learning in which the spatial and temporal aspects of movement become highly organized through practice;there is automacity of the skill with a low degree of attention required for performance
- Cognitive stage of motor learning
- the initial stage of learning in which the cognitive plan for the skill is developed;the learner develops an understanding of the task,develops strategies,and determines how the task should be evaluated
- Recovery of function
- the re-acquisition of movement skills lost through injury
- Knowledge of performance
- Augmented feedback related to the nature of the movement pattern produced
- Knowledge of results
- augmented feedback related to the nature of the result produced in terms of the environmental goal