Neuro Activities

• List some of the common causes of weakness (e.g., muscle problem (e.g., myopathy, myositis), brain problem (e.g., stroke, trauma), etc.).
• Describe the features on history and physical exam that suggest a particular cause for weakness (i.e., help to localize the lesion).
• Discuss your approach to a patient presenting with weakness.
• Explain the utility of some of the tests used to assess muscle disorders (e.g., EMG/NCS, muscle biopsy).
• Differentiate between mononeuropathies, radiculopathies, and polyneuropathies based on clinical signs and symptoms.
• Discuss the different clinical courses seen in patients with axonal neuropathies vs. demyelinating neuropathies.
• Recognize that neuropathic pain might arise as a result of irritation or injury to neuronal structures and discuss its management.
• List disorders that commonly cause neuropathies.
• Explain your approach to a patient with sensory/motor problems secondary to nerve dysfunction.
• Describe spinal cord anatomy.
• Describe the clinical presentation seen with different patterns of spinal cord lesions (e.g., complete transection, hemicord lesion, etc.).
• List the clinical signs and symptons that suggest spinal cord involvement.
• Relay how to clear a c-spine.
• Be aware of red flags when evaluating traumatic head injury.
• Understand the pathophysiology of concussion and its heterogenous presentation as it pertains to cortical function.
• Discuss the Return to Play guidelines.
• Develop an approach to localize the cause of neurologic weakness.
• Appreciate the role of cortical, brainstem, and spinal cord neuroanatomy in clinical localization.
• Appreciate the importance of left/right lateralization and UMN vs. LMN findings in localization.