Cognition

Question 1

Cognition

Answer 1

• Ability to process, sort, retrieve, and manipulate information
• Includes: awareness/arousal/attention, reasoning, judgment, memory, executive functions

Question 2

Arousal

Answer 2

• Slow fluctuations in alertness related to circadian rhythm, food intake, and drug effects
• Ability to respond continuously to sensory input by eye opening, localizing, or tracking with head or eye movement to stimulation

Question 3

Focused/selective attention

Answer 3

• Process relevant information about task & environment while screening out irrelevant information

Question 4

Sustained attention

Answer 4

• Ability to sustain attention over time and comment on environment

Question 5

Alternating attention

Answer 5

• Ability to move flexibility between tasks and respond to demands of both tasks

Question 6

Divided attention

Answer 6

• Respond simultaneously to two or more tasks when all stimuli are relevant

Question 7

Executive functions

Answer 7

• Capacity to plan, manipulate information, initiate and terminate activities, recognize errors, problem solve, and think abstractly
• Frontal or pre-frontal damage; sometimes sub-cortical regions

Question 8

Dysarthria

Answer 8

• Motor control problem with annunciation

Question 9

Dysphonia

Answer 9

• Hyper or hypo production of sounds

Question 10

Wernicke’s aphasia

Answer 10

• Also called receptive aphasia/fluent aphasia

- Impaired auditory but fluent speech with rate and melody

Question 11

Broca’s aphasia

Answer 11

• Also called non-fluent aphasia/expressive aphasia

- Difficulty with vocabulary, hesitant speech, awkward articulation, problem with writing

Question 12

Agnosias

Answer 12

• Unawareness or denial of deficits/severity

Question 13

Apraxia

Answer 13

• Inability to carry out purposeful movement in presence of intact sensation, movement, and coordination
• Types: Verbal, buccofacial, constructional, dressing
• Two types of limb apraxia: Ideomotor (movement that can occur automatically but not on command); Ideational (ability to conceptualize/plan/execute complex motor activities)

Question 14

Mini-Mental Status Exam (MMSE)

Answer 14

• Tests 5 areas of cognition: Orientation, registration, attention and calculation, recall and language
• Screening test for identifying unrecognized cognitive disorders in elders (community dwelling elders)
• Cut-off score of 24 - detection of dementia