Neurologist Interview Preparation Guide

absence seizure (petit mal seizure) generalized seizure characterized by abrupt cessation of ongoing activity with a blank stare and lost or impaired consciousness lasting on average 10-20 seconds

Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis (ADEM) acute, classically monophasic demyelinative disease of the CNS that may follow a viral syndrome or vaccination or no identifiable predisposing cause

Alzheimer’s disease most common cause of dementia in older adults; a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the gradual loss of cognitive ability in association with the neuropathological findings of abnormal protein aggregates (neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) and neuron loss in the cerebral cortex

ankle-foot orthosis (AFO) brace that is worn on the lower leg and foot to support the ankle and correct foot drop

Argyll-Robertson pupil pupil exhibiting light-near dissociation due to a lesion in the midbrain periaqueductal gray matter caused by tertiary syphilis arousal abrupt change from sleep to wakefulness, or from a "deeper" stage of non-REM sleep to a "lighter" stage

association cortex cortical areas involved in higher order processing of sensory information and integration of multiple sensory and sensorimotor modalities astasia inability to stand because of motor incoordination

Inability to write due either to muscular coordination issues or to an inability to phrase thought.

Collection of blood vessels with one or several abnormal connections between arteries and veins, which may cause hemorrhage or seizures.

The bundle of spinal nerve roots arising from the end of the spinal cord and filling the lower part of the spinal canal.

A condition, often congenital, marked by abnormal and excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in the cerebral ventricles. This dilates the ventricles and, in infants and young children, causes the head to enlarge.