Tag: Neuroscience

The Parietal Lobe

Question 1

The parietal lobe is located at the top region near the back of the brain. There are two parietal lobes – left and right parietal lobe. This part of the cerebral cortex is involved in vision, speech, sensation and interaction with other regions to connect sensory input from external environment and interpretation of the stimuli. Parietal lobe stroke occurs when the blood vessel supplying blood to this region ruptures or gets blocked.

This interferes with sensation of the entire opposite sides.  This is because motor system of the brain is mainly found in the frontal lobes (Knoefel, 2011). It starts with promoter regions for coordination of complex movements to the primary motor cortex where output is transmitted into the spinal cord leading to contraction and movement of the muscles.

The primary motor cortex located on the left side of the brain is responsible for the movement and muscle contractions in the right side of a person’s body and the primary motor cortex on the right controls movement of the left side. This explains why patient with right parietal stroke gets return of voluntary movement in the left hand (Migliaccio et al., 2014).

Question 2

Fronto parietal stroke affects the frontal and parietal lobes part of the brain. A right fronto-parietal stroke patient with better movement in the left hand side is also likely to may not necessarily have better attention of the side. This is because the frontal lobe is responsible for solving skills, emotions, and selective attention behavior. On the other hand, the parietal lobes control sensations such as touch and pressure.

Therefore, the indication of stroke will depend on the region of the brain involved. Stroke on the right hemisphere cerebrum affects left side whereas stroke in the left hemisphere affects the right side.  In addition, injury in the left lobe disrupts the patient understanding of the written and spoken word (Knoefel, 2011).

Question 3:

Visual motor integration refers to a person’s ability to perceive visual information, process it and move the motor system accordingly.  The idea that the front ends of visual system is responsible for breaking down stimulus for down into their constituent’s parts such as pattern, shape, motion, color and to glue the feature in the parietal lobe neuron.

Therefore, patients with right front parietal stroke make it challenging to grasp coordination. Visual- motor integration involves three processes; a) visual stimulus analysis, b) fine-motor control and c) conceptualization. Deficit in any of the three processes influence the final outcome. For instance, if fine motor control and visual analysis are within the normal range, then the challenge lies in the conceptualization (Johansson, 2012).

Question 4:

It can be challenging to farm with Parkinson’s disease because of tremors and rigidity that makes it difficult to hold hand tools and increases the likelihood of accidental injuries to self and others. In addition, the increased diminishing balance can increase risk for secondary injuries due to fall, slip or trip.

In addition, the medications used to treat the disease are associated with light headedness, confusion, insomnia and dizziness can dramatically reduce the patient’s energy. Therefore, these are the safety risks to consider when supporting the patient engage in his chosen hobby (Santos-García & de la Fuente-Fernández, 2013).

Question 5

Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative disease described by non motor and motor symptoms that negatively impact the patient’s quality of life.  Most of PD patients are stigmatized because of the visible motor and non motor symptoms. The symptoms of this disease are difficult to hide and are perceived as unscrupulous by the public. This includes observable traits such as gait difficulties, tremor and drooling. These symptoms disrupt the autonomous integration into the society due to their exterior conditions. In addition, the deteriorated self esteem evokes feelings of embarrassment and shame which results into isolation (Santos-García & de la Fuente-Fernández, 2013).

In addition, stigma and seclusion is not only associated with the observable signs and symptoms but also due to progressive loss of functionality. This factor further contributes to bad self image, self efficacy and autonomy. In fact when interviewed about their life history, most of the patients explain symptoms as the key issue for seclusion and low self esteem due to increased physical dependence.

Stigma also arises from awkwardness and inability to do activities that require simple motor actions. This reduction to functionality results into increased social disengagement associated to stigmatization. Stigmatization may also occur due to hindrances to communication.  PD patients may be mislabeled for instance as drunkards. In addition, the delayed thinking and difficulty to convey their opinions easily can make them feel frustrated and isolated. The difficultness to decipher PD patient’s mute expressions makes them feel alienated and disconnected from others (Maffoni et al., 2017).

References

Johansson, B. B. (2012). Multisensory Stimulation in Stroke Rehabilitation. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6, 60. http://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00060

Knoefel, J. E. (2011). Clinical neurology of aging. Oxford University Press.

Maffoni, M.,  Giardini, A.,  Pierobon, A., Ferrazzoli, D., and Frazzitta, G.  (2017). “Stigma Experienced by Parkinson’s Disease Patients: A Descriptive Review of Qualitative Studies,” Parkinson’s Disease, Article ID 7203259, doi:10.1155/2017/7203259

Migliaccio, R., Bouhali, F., Rastelli, F., Ferrieux, S., Arbizu, C., Vincent, S., … & Bartolomeo, P. (2014). Damage to the medial motor system in stroke patients with motor neglect. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 8, 408.

Santos-García, D., & de la Fuente-Fernández, R. (2013). Impact of non-motor symptoms on health-related and perceived quality of life in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of the neurological sciences, 332(1), 136-140.

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