Neurologists define a seizure as a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms—commonly abnormal movements and/or changes in behavior—due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. They define epilepsy as the tendency to have recurrent unprovoked seizures. They…
Neurologists generally follow the International Headache Society’s (IHS) classification that recognizes three major headache categories. Primary Headaches include tension-type , migraine , and cluster headaches . Although not life-threatening, they may create excruciating pain, incapacitate patients, and reduce a patient’s…
Since the inception of the discipline of neurology in the 19th century, neurologists have studied language, language impairment ( aphasia ), and related disorders to deduce how the normal brain functions and to advance the study of neurolinguistics. In practice,…
Physicians have long used the term dementia to define a progressive decline in cognitive function that impairs daily activities. Criteria for this diagnosis include memory impairment plus one or more of the following: aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or disturbance in executive…
The clinical evaluation can usually distinguish disorders of muscle from those of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) ( Table 6.1 ). It can then divide muscle disorders into those of the neuromuscular junction and those…
Neurologists generally distinguish peripheral nervous system (PNS) from central nervous system (CNS) disorders on the basis of clinical findings. In PNS disorders, damage to one, a group, or all peripheral nerves causes readily observable patterns of paresis, deep tendon reflex…
Various conditions may strike the cranial nerves individually, in pairs, or in groups. Moreover, when patients appear to have symptoms of a cranial nerve impairment, the underlying problem might not be damage to the cranial nerve itself but rather a…
In classic studies of patients with conversion disorders, when unconscious conflicts were thought to undergo a psychodynamic conversion to expression as a physical symptom, patients only had rudimentary examinations and minimal, if any, laboratory testing. Re-evaluation of the same patients…
Disorders of the brain and the spinal cord—the two major components of the central nervous system (CNS)—typically cause readily recognizable combinations of paresis, sensory loss, visual deficits, and neuropsychologic disorders ( Box 2.1 ). Such signs of CNS disorders differ…
Despite the ready availability of sophisticated tests, the neurologic examination remains fundamental to the specialty. Beloved to neurologists, the examination provides a vivid portrayal of both function and illness. When a patient’s history suggests a neurologic illness or dysfunction localized…