FUNCIONES MENTALES SUPERIORES

Summary

This script provides an in-depth exploration of higher mental functions, focusing on cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, language, calculation, praxis, reasoning, and executive functions. It covers how these functions are evaluated in patients, describing various testing methods for attention, memory recall, language expression, and comprehension. The script also addresses potential disorders like aphasia, apraxia, and agnosia, as well as how these conditions affect the ability to perform daily tasks. The importance of evaluating both the functional and abstract reasoning capabilities is emphasized to better understand cognitive health.

Takeaways

• 😀 Mental functions are crucial for organizing perceptual information, modifying past learning, and enabling simultaneous processing of multiple events or information.
• 😀 The higher mental functions include attention, memory, language, calculation, praxias, reading, writing, abstract reasoning, judgment, visuospatial skills, and executive functions.
• 😀 Attention is the ability to focus on an object or stimulus, with types such as spontaneous and voluntary attention, which are evaluated through tasks like letter cancellation or subtraction exercises.
• 😀 Memory allows us to register new experiences and recall past ones. It is divided into immediate, recent, and remote memory, and impairments include anterograde and retrograde amnesia.
• 😀 Language is the ability to communicate through signs, both verbal and non-verbal. Common disorders include aphasia, which affects the production or comprehension of speech.
• 😀 Praxias refer to learned motor activities in response to visual or verbal stimuli, and can be assessed by asking patients to perform actions like brushing their teeth or imitating drawings.
• 😀 Agraphia and alexia refer to difficulties in writing and reading, respectively, which may occur due to cognitive impairments.
• 😀 Agnosia is the inability to recognize objects or sensory stimuli, and can be categorized into visual, tactile, and auditory agnosia.
• 😀 Executive functions involve processes like problem-solving and decision-making, and can be assessed by asking a patient how they would approach achieving a goal.
• 😀 The script includes various cognitive tests for assessing higher functions, like evaluating visuospatial abilities, abstract reasoning through object classification, and judgment through hypothetical situations.

Q & A

What are superior mental functions, and why are they important?

Superior mental functions are cognitive abilities that help in organizing perceptual information, remodeling past learning, and evaluating the integrity of subcortical mechanisms that support thought. These functions enable us to handle multiple pieces of information or events simultaneously and are integrated into interconnected neural networks.

How is attention evaluated in a neuropsychological exam?

Attention is evaluated by presenting tasks such as marking certain letters in a text or performing arithmetic operations, like subtracting 7 from 70. This evaluates both attention and calculation abilities, as well as the activation of the reticular activating system and cortical areas.

What are the different types of memory, and how are they assessed?

Memory can be divided into immediate, recent, and remote types. Immediate memory is assessed through tasks like recalling a series of digits after a minute. Recent memory is tested by asking the patient about recent events, while remote memory is evaluated by asking about past personal information, such as employment history.

What is the difference between anterograde and retrograde amnesia?

Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to retain new information, whereas retrograde amnesia involves forgetting previously learned information. In anterograde amnesia, the patient cannot remember new data, while in retrograde amnesia, the patient loses memories from the past.

How does language function and its disorders get assessed?

Language function is assessed by evaluating both verbal expression and comprehension. Disorders such as aphasia, which involve a loss of ability to speak or understand language, are identified by asking the patient to perform tasks like repeating phrases, naming objects, and following simple commands.

What is the significance of praxias in neuropsychological assessment?

Praxias assess the ability to perform learned movements in response to stimuli. This includes tasks such as demonstrating how to brush teeth or dress oneself. Disorders like ideomotor apraxia, where the patient cannot perform a sequence of actions, or ideational apraxia, where the patient struggles to plan the steps of an activity, can be identified.

What is agnosia, and how is it assessed?

Agnosia is the inability to recognize objects, symbols, or body parts despite intact sensory function. It is assessed by tasks like asking the patient to identify objects by touch (tactile agnosia) or recognizing sounds (auditory agnosia). Visual agnosia is tested by asking patients to differentiate faces or shapes.

How are executive functions evaluated in a neuropsychological exam?

Executive functions are assessed through tasks that require planning and problem-solving, such as asking the patient how they would achieve a specific goal or complete a task. These tests measure cognitive flexibility, decision-making, and the ability to execute a plan.

What role does abstract reasoning play in cognitive assessments?

Abstract reasoning is evaluated by tasks that involve categorizing objects, interpreting proverbs, or making logical connections between ideas. These tasks assess a person’s ability to think beyond concrete concepts and recognize patterns and relationships.

What is the role of judgment in assessing cognitive function?

Judgment is evaluated by presenting hypothetical scenarios and asking the patient what they would do in those situations. This helps determine whether the patient can distinguish between right and wrong, or make decisions based on logical reasoning and social norms.