Oliver Sacks

Prea — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:03:30 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological profiles]]

''Biography''

Oliver Sacks, a practicing neurologist, is most famous for his books featuring his patients' cases throughout his career. He was born July 9, 1933 in London, England. He was brought up among a family of doctors and scientists - his mother was a surgeon and his father was a general practitioner. Oliver followed in his familyâ��s foot steps. He earned his medical degree from Queenâ��s College at Oxford University and completed his residencies at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco and at the University of California in Los Angeles. Later he moved to New York to begin his practice. He began working as a consulting neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital in New York City. It was in this hospital that he met with many of the people who later inspired his books. He brought patients with sleeping sickness out of their vegetative states with L-Dopa. A recount of this was used to make his book first book Awakenings.

Sacks has been published many times throughout his career. He has received many acknowledgments for his literary achievements, including the Lewis Thomas Prize by Rockefeller University, which recognized him as also a poet. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The New York Times referred to him as â��the poet laureate of medicine.â�� He has written many best selling books and, beside his own works, he has greatly contributed to neurological literature in general through his collaborations with many other professionals in the field.

http://www.wright.edu/news/oliver_sacks_lg.jpg

''Books''
*Migraine (1970)
*Awakenings (1973)
*A Leg to Stand On (1984)
*The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985)
*Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf (1990)
*An Anthropologist on Mars (1995)
*The Island of the Colorblind (1996
*Uncle Tungten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (2001)
*Oaxaca Journal (2002
*Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007)

''Recognition''

Oliver Sacks has received recognition throughout his career for his exemplary work. These include honorary degrees, awards, memberships, among others.
He has honorary fellowships to a variety of different organizations:
*American Academy of Arts and Letters
*American Academy of Arts and Sciences
*American Neurological Association
*Association of British Neurologists
*Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University
*New York Academy of Sciences
*New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU
*Queenâ��s College, Oxford
*Royal College of Physicians
*University of California, Santa Cruz, Cowell College

Sacks has inducted as a member to the following groups:
*Alpha Omega Alpha
*American Academy of Neurology
*American Fern Society
*Authorsâ�� Guild
*British Pteridological Society
*Bronx County and NY State Medical Societies
*New York Mineralogical Club
*New York Stereoscopic Society
*PEN
*Society for Neuroscience

He has received 11 honorary degrees from Universities around the world, including:
*1990 Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters
*1991 Tufts University, Doctor of Science
*1991 College of Staten Island, CUNY, Doctor of Humane Letters
*1991 New York Medical College, Doctor of Science
*1992 Medical College of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Medical Science
*1992 Bard College, Doctor of Science
*2001 Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Doctor of Laws
*2003 Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Doctor of Medical Science
*2005 Gallaudet University, Doctor of Laws
*2005 University of Oxford, Doctor of Civil Law
*2006 Pontificia Universidad CatÃ³lica de PerÃº

In addition he has received many awards for his work:
*1970 Alpha Omega Alpha, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
*1973 Book of the Year, The Observer, AWAKENINGS
*1974 Hawthornden Prize for Imaginative Literature, AWAKENINGS
*1988 American Psychiatric Association, Oskar Pfister Award
*1989 American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters, Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award
*1989 Guggenheim Fellowship (for work on the neuro-anthropology of Touretteâ��s Syndrome)
*1991 The Scriptor Award, University of Southern California, AWAKENINGS
*1991 Odd Fellows Social Concern Book Award, SEEING VOICES
*1991 Prix Psyche'
*1991 National Headache Foundation, Professional Support Award
*1991 American Academy of Neurology, Presidential Citation
*1991 American Neurological Association, Special Presidential Award
*1991 The Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Communicator of the Year Award
*1991 Assn of Neuroscience Depts & Programs, Award for Education in Neuroscience
*1994 George S. Polk Award for Magazine Reporting, "An Anthropologist on Mars"
*1994 National Association of Science Writers Award, "An Anthropologist on Mars"
*1995 Esquire/Apple/Waterstone's Book of the Year, AN ANTHROPOLOGIST ON MARS
*1996 Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, Tokyo, Best Natural Science Book, SEEING VOICES
*2000 Cornell University, A.D. White Professor-at-Large
*2001 New York Times Editorsâ�� Choice, UNCLE TUNGSTEN
*2002 Lewis Thomas Prize for the Scientist as Poet, Rockefeller University
*2002 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship (Music and the Brain)
*2002 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize, UNCLE TUNGSTEN
*2004 National Science Foundation Public Communication Award
*2004 Tanner Lecturer in Human Values, Yale University
*2004 Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Associations, Mental Health Award
*2004 E.A. Wood Scientific Writing Award, American Crystallographic Association
*2004 New York City Mayorâ��s Award for Excellence in Science and Technology
*2004 Literature Award of the German Chemical Industry Fund, UNCLE TUNGSTEN

''Currently''
Oliver Sacks work has brought him around the world. He has encountered many people of a variety of cultures. However, he continues to reside in New York. He currently holds the position of Professor of Clinical Neurology and Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center.
[[Image:Example.jpg]][[Image:Example.jpg]]

'''Links'''
[[]]

Stroop task

Prea — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 02:01:42 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological methods]]
The Stroop task is used to test the interference of conflicting color stimuli and the reaction time of the subject. Colors are written in a different colored ink such as blue being written in red. This interferes with the subjects ability to say the color that the ink is instead of the color that is written.

The Original
----

John Ridley Stroop is the first to publish his theory in English in 1935, hence why the task is named after him. His original experiment consisted of two tests. The first called "reading color names", this required subjects to say the written word instead of the ink color. The second test was the "Naming Colored Words" This required subjects to say the ink color of the written word instead of the written word. This is the test where most people had there problems. There was something that was interfering causing a slower reaction time.
[[http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Stroop/]]

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/gif/stroop.gif

Brenda Milner

Prea — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:56:42 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological profiles]]
Dr. Brenda Milner CC (born 15 July 1918, Manchester England) has contributed extensively to the research literature on various topics in the field of clinical neuropsychology.

Dr. Brenda Milner has been a pioneer in the field of neuropsychology and in the study of memory and other cognitive functions in humans. She was the first to study the effects of damage to the medial temporal lobe on memory and systematically described the deficits in the most famous patient in cognitive neuroscience, HM. Through a series of landmark studies, Dr. Milner showed that the medial temporal lobe amnestic syndrome is characterized by an inability to acquire new memories while past memories and other cognitive abilities, including language, perception and reasoning are intact. Further, she showed that in patients with this syndrome the ability to learn certain motor skills remained normal. This seminal finding introduced the concept of multiple memory systems within the brain and stimulated an enormous body of research. Her work helped establish the importance of cortico-limbic pathways for cognitive memories and cortico-basal ganglia pathways for skills and procedural memories. These fundamental studies revealed the differences in episodic and procedural memory, concepts that we all take for granted now, and the brain regions that mediate each. This research laid the platform for advances in understanding learning in both normal and functionally impaired humans.

Dr. Milner has made major contributions to the understanding of the role of the frontal lobes in memory processing, in the area of organizing information. She demonstrated the critical role of the dorsolateral frontal cortex for the temporal organization of memory and her work showed that there is partial separability of the neural circuits subserving recognition memory from those mediating memory for temporal order. Dr. Milner described the inflexibility in problem solving that is now widely recognized as a common consequence of frontal-lobe injury. These refinements in the understanding of memory and exposition of the relevant brain regions revealed the diffuse nature of complex cognitive functions in the brain.

Dr. Milner helped describe the lateralization of function in the human brain and has shown how the representation of language in the cerebral hemispheres can vary in left-handed, right-handed and ambidextrous individuals (see handedness. These studies of the relationship between hand preference and speech lateralization led to an understanding of the effects of early unilateral brain lesions on the pattern of cerebral organization at maturity. Her studies were among the first to demonstrate convincingly that damage to the brain can lead to dramatic functional reorganization.

Many of these studies were done in preoperative and postoperative neurosurgical patients for whom Dr. Milner developed special cognitive tasks to elucidate the nature of the cognitive impairments from which they suffered. Further, the realization of the potential risk to cognitive function led Dr. Milner to develop the use of sodium amytal to reversibly inactivate parts of the brain to assess and localize the memory functions in patients prior to surgery. This method, pioneered by Dr. Milner, is now widely used throughout the world.

In recent years, Dr. Milner has expanded her research to the study of brain activity in normal subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography. These studies focus on the identification of brain regions associated with spatial memory and language, including the neural substrates of unilingual and bilingual speech processing. Dr Milner leads the research group at the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit of the Montreal Neurological Institute in the exploration of the anatomical basis of cognition. She is currently engaged in cognitive activation studies, exploring the brain regions involved in the performance of specific cognitive tasks. Her work continues to inform this research field characterized by complex and difficult problems that can only be unraveled by subtle and sophisticated means. Her wealth of knowledge and her vast experience with patients and healthy subjects is a valuable resource that she imparts to her students.

The large and varied body of research by Dr. Milner has had, and continues to have, a major impact on cognitive neuroscience and on clinical neuroscience. Dr. Milnerâ��s studies have direct applicability to patient care, particularly for the neurosurgical treatment of patients with brain tumours or epilepsy. Her studies have a profound effect on the presurgical evaluation of patients and on specific surgical techniques that have resulted in world-renowned strategies to minimize the linguistic and cognitive deficits resulting from brain surgery. Her contribution to understanding memory and language function as well as hemispheric lateralization has informed research and potential therapies for debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and stroke.

Dr. Milnerâ��s distinguished career has been recognized by numerous awards and memberships in the Royal Society (London), the Royal Society of Canada and the National Academy of Sciences (USA). Dr. Milner is actively engaged in research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and other agencies, and she remains a major contributor to her field. At a recent symposium in her honor, Dr. Eric Kandel credited Dr. Milner with the creative and essential step of merging the fields of neurobiology and psychology to create cognitive neuroscience, a field that has direct and daily patient impact and one that catalyzes a vast array of basic research in the pursuit of understanding human cognition. In 1984 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 2004. Also in 2004, Dr. Milner was awarded the prestigious Neuroscience Award from the United States National Academy of Science.

Dr Milner received her undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in 1939, and her Ph.D. degree under Dr. Donald Hebb at McGill University in 1952. She joined Dr. Wilder Penfield at the Montreal Neurological Institute in 1950 and published landmark papers with Penfield and Scoville in 1957 and 1958. She is the Dorothy J. Killam Professor of Psychology, Montreal Neurological Institute and Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, McGill University.

http://www.mcgill.ca/files/reporter/4008milner.jpg

Antonio Damasio

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:36:47 GMT

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Antonio Damasio

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:33:42 GMT

Prea:

Antonio Damasio

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:29:27 GMT

Prea:

Synesthesia

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:26:37 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological syndromes]]

http://www.lurj.org/vol2n1/synesthesia-fig1.jpg

Alexander Luria

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:24:04 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological profiles]]
<STRONG><H2>Alexander Luria:</H2></STRONG>
<STRONG><H3>Background</H3></STRONG><BR>
Alexander Luria, born in a city east of Moscow named Kazan, attended Kazan State University (graduated in 1921) and the 1st Moscow Medical Institute (graduated in 1937). He later become a professor and received two more degrees by the year of 1943. During these years, Alexander helped to assemble the Faculty of Psychology at the Moscow State University where he was later named head of both the pathopsychology and neuropsychology studies.<BR>
<STRONG><H3>Accomplishments</H3></STRONG><BR>
Through constant communication with Sigmund Freud and worke with reaction times and thought processes, Luria helped to develop the first lie detector machine in 1932.<BR>

Luria also traveled to Central Asia during the years of the 1930's where he studied the psychological changes of memory, perception and problem solving in relation to the educational development in of an undereducated people. Working heavily with language, Luria focused on the topic of aphasia (The loss of the ability to understand speech or produce it).<BR>

During World War II, Luria worked with a team of doctors in an army hospital treating wounded patients with brain lesions. The end result of these actions is the development of the area now formally known as neuropsychology.<BR>

<H3><STRONG>Tests Created by Alexander</STRONG></H3><BR>
The Luria-Nebraska test is one based on the scales of neuropsychological functioning. This test is designed for patients 15 years of age and older, but it can be administered to children as young as 12 years of age.<BR>
http://luria.ucsd.edu/bwl.jpg

Oliver Sacks

Prea — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:16:55 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological profiles]]

''Biography''

Oliver Sacks, a practicing neurologist, is most famous for his books featuring his patients' cases throughout his career. He was born July 9, 1933 in London, England. He was brought up among a family of doctors and scientists - his mother was a surgeon and his father was a general practitioner. Oliver followed in his family’s foot steps. He earned his medical degree from Queen’s College at Oxford University and completed his residencies at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco and at the University of California in Los Angeles. Later he moved to New York to begin his practice. He began working as a consulting neurologist at Beth Abraham Hospital in New York City. It was in this hospital that he met with many of the people who later inspired his books. He brought patients with sleeping sickness out of their vegetative states with L-Dopa. A recount of this was used to make his book first book Awakenings.

Sacks has been published many times throughout his career. He has received many acknowledgments for his literary achievements, including the Lewis Thomas Prize by Rockefeller University, which recognized him as also a poet. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The New York Times referred to him as “the poet laureate of medicine.” He has written many best selling books and, beside his own works, he has greatly contributed to neurological literature in general through his collaborations with many other professionals in the field.

''Books''
*Migraine (1970)
*Awakenings (1973)
*A Leg to Stand On (1984)
*The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985)
*Seeing Voices: A Journey into the World of the Deaf (1990)
*An Anthropologist on Mars (1995)
*The Island of the Colorblind (1996
*Uncle Tungten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood (2001)
*Oaxaca Journal (2002
*Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (2007)

''Recognition''

Oliver Sacks has received recognition throughout his career for his exemplary work. These include honorary degrees, awards, memberships, among others.
He has honorary fellowships to a variety of different organizations:
*American Academy of Arts and Letters
*American Academy of Arts and Sciences
*American Neurological Association
*Association of British Neurologists
*Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University
*New York Academy of Sciences
*New York Institute for the Humanities at NYU
*Queen’s College, Oxford
*Royal College of Physicians
*University of California, Santa Cruz, Cowell College

Sacks has inducted as a member to the following groups:
*Alpha Omega Alpha
*American Academy of Neurology
*American Fern Society
*Authors’ Guild
*British Pteridological Society
*Bronx County and NY State Medical Societies
*New York Mineralogical Club
*New York Stereoscopic Society
*PEN
*Society for Neuroscience

He has received 11 honorary degrees from Universities around the world, including:
*1990 Georgetown University, Doctor of Humane Letters
*1991 Tufts University, Doctor of Science
*1991 College of Staten Island, CUNY, Doctor of Humane Letters
*1991 New York Medical College, Doctor of Science
*1992 Medical College of Pennsylvania, Doctor of Medical Science
*1992 Bard College, Doctor of Science
*2001 Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Doctor of Laws
*2003 Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Doctor of Medical Science
*2005 Gallaudet University, Doctor of Laws
*2005 University of Oxford, Doctor of Civil Law
*2006 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Perú

In addition he has received many awards for his work:
*1970 Alpha Omega Alpha, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
*1973 Book of the Year, The Observer, AWAKENINGS
*1974 Hawthornden Prize for Imaginative Literature, AWAKENINGS
*1988 American Psychiatric Association, Oskar Pfister Award
*1989 American Academy & Institute of Arts and Letters, Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award
*1989 Guggenheim Fellowship (for work on the neuro-anthropology of Tourette’s Syndrome)
*1991 The Scriptor Award, University of Southern California, AWAKENINGS
*1991 Odd Fellows Social Concern Book Award, SEEING VOICES
*1991 Prix Psyche'
*1991 National Headache Foundation, Professional Support Award
*1991 American Academy of Neurology, Presidential Citation
*1991 American Neurological Association, Special Presidential Award
*1991 The Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Communicator of the Year Award
*1991 Assn of Neuroscience Depts & Programs, Award for Education in Neuroscience
*1994 George S. Polk Award for Magazine Reporting, "An Anthropologist on Mars"
*1994 National Association of Science Writers Award, "An Anthropologist on Mars"
*1995 Esquire/Apple/Waterstone's Book of the Year, AN ANTHROPOLOGIST ON MARS
*1996 Mainichi Publishing Culture Award, Tokyo, Best Natural Science Book, SEEING VOICES
*2000 Cornell University, A.D. White Professor-at-Large
*2001 New York Times Editors’ Choice, UNCLE TUNGSTEN
*2002 Lewis Thomas Prize for the Scientist as Poet, Rockefeller University
*2002 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation fellowship (Music and the Brain)
*2002 Jewish Quarterly Wingate Prize, UNCLE TUNGSTEN
*2004 National Science Foundation Public Communication Award
*2004 Tanner Lecturer in Human Values, Yale University
*2004 Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Associations, Mental Health Award
*2004 E.A. Wood Scientific Writing Award, American Crystallographic Association
*2004 New York City Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Science and Technology
*2004 Literature Award of the German Chemical Industry Fund, UNCLE TUNGSTEN

''Currently''
Oliver Sacks work has brought him around the world. He has encountered many people of a variety of cultures. However, he continues to reside in New York. He currently holds the position of Professor of Clinical Neurology and Clinical Psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center.
[[Image:Example.jpg]][[Image:Example.jpg]]

'''Links'''
[[]]

Hemiplegia

Prea — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:03:46 GMT

Prea: /* Types of Hemiplegia */

[[Category:Neuropsychological syndromes]]

== Overview ==

Hemiplegia describes the condition of a brain damaged individual who is unable to intentionally move parts of his or her body on the side opposite that of the brain damage. The affected hemisphere may be completely paralyzed or simply weakened. Other characteristics of hemiplegia include limited use of one hand, and/or balancing, speech and visual field problems. Hemiplegia usually occurs as a result of a loss of blood supply in the mid-cerebral artery due to aneurysm, hemorrhage, or clot. It may also be caused by a head injury, epilepsy, and/or tumor. In addition, damage to sub-cortical structures, such as the basal ganglia, may result in hemiplegia, since such structures are often served by the mid-cerebral artery.

[[Image:Example.jpg]] http://www.humanillnesses.com/original/images/hdc_0001_0003_0_img0192.jpg

== Types of Hemiplegia ==

The types of hemiplegia include:

• facial hemiplegia – paralysis of one side of the face

• cerebral hemiplegia – caused by brain lesion which inhibits blood flow

• spastic hemiplegia – paralysis as well as convulsive movements of the affected side, occurs mostly in infants

• spinal hemiplegia – caused by lesions on the spine.

Alternating hemiplegia is a rare type of hemiplegia that usually develops in children during their first four years. Characterized by repeated, although temporary, incidences of paralysis on one side of the body. The paralysis can affect anything from limbs to facial muscles. One form of this particular type of hemiplegia has been found to occur largely at night while the child is awake. New research has shown that this form maybe linked to migraines. Children affected with this order do not usually have any other impairments, but serious cases have shown there to be mental impairment, difficulty with balance, excessive sweating, and seizures can occur. Although sleep temporary relieves the paralysis, it usually recurs upon waking up.

== Recovery ==

Hemiplegic Individuals are usually able to improve over time. Changes in bloody supply as well as blood loss result in cell death and loss of function in adjacent neurons. Most of these neurons are later able to return to a normal or near normal functioning level thereby allowing for the patient to have at least a partial behavioral recovery of function. Many patients have also proven to be adaptable by learning new ways of moving by using different brain regions.

== Anosognosia in Patients with Hemiplegia ==

Anosognosia, a condition in which patients are unaware of his or her illness and/or the effects of that illness, occurs in approximately fifty percent of hemiplegics. These patients do not believe they are paralyzed at all and often overestimate their abilities thereby making them less likely to regain independence after their strokes than non-anosognosia hemiplegics.

== Resources ==

*[http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/alternatinghemiplegia/alternatinghemiplegia.htm NIH site]
*[http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-causes-of-hemiplegia.htm Online encyclopedia site]
*[http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro03/web2/cstearns.html]
*Stirling, John. Introducing Neuropsychology
*Ogden, Jenni A. Fractured Minds: A Case Study Approach to Clincial Neuropsychology

Prea — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:01:14 GMT

Prea:

Wada test

Prea — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:26:22 GMT

Prea:

[[Category:Neuropsychological methods]]

The Wada Test, officially referred to as intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure or ISAP, was established by Juhn E. Wada. It is used to determine localization, that is where functions are located in the brain. The test consists of administering a barbiturate to one hemisphere at a time, thereby inducing a temporary lesion that lasts a few minutes.

Wada test

Prea — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 22:09:26 GMT

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User:Prea

Prea — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 17:43:37 GMT

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Prea Persaud