1. Making sense of the senses
The Walton Centre
For Neurology and Neurosurgery
NHS Foundation Trust
Making sense of the senses
Professor Gus A Baker
Tribune Neuropsychology Services

2. Sight
Sound
Smell
Taste
Touch

3. What can go wrong [when the senses go wrong]
Agnosia
Dysgraphia
Anomia
Alexia
Aphasia
Cortical blindness
Dysarthria
Tinnitus
Ageusia
Acalculia
Anosmia
Abulia

4. What do these mean Agnosia Inability to recognise and intepret objects
Dysgraphia Inability in writing
Anomia Inability to name objects
Alexia Inability to read due to lesion
Aphasia Impairment in language
Cortical blindness Apparent lack of vision
Dysarthria Impaired production of speech
Ageusia Impaired sense of taste
Acalculia Inability to calculate
Anosmia Loss of sense of smell
Abulia - Loss of will and decision-making ability

7. Volunteer

8. Frontal and Pre-frontal Cortex

9. Executive Functioning
Regulation and control of cognitive processes and behaviour
Attention
Self-monitoring
Goal formation
Planning
Goal directed action
Response inhibition
Coordination of complex cognition

10. Behavioural Aspects Disinhibition Apathy
Failure to appreciate the impact of their behaviour upon others
Abulia [loss of will and decision making]
“Le belle indifference”

11. Effects on day-to day Behaviour
Impulsivity
Aggressive behaviour
Individual
Disorganised
Hyperactivity
Self-control

12. Case of AJ Cerebral hypoxia Could not encode new information
Could not learn new skills
Repeated himself
Asked about mars bars

13. Assessment of higher executive functioning
Range of measures
Tests of crystalised intelligence
Tests of fluid intelligence
Tests of memory
Tests of verbal fluency
Tests of Colour Word Interference
Questionnaires
Clinical observation
Family observation

14. Tests of Colour Word Interference

15. Rehabilitation Assessment by an MDT team
Intervention based on identified deficits
Rehab strategies
CBT
Environmental Structure
Family education
Psychiatric and neuropsychological support

16. Summary The brain is complex
We only appreciate its complexity when it goes wrong
The effects of a brain injury can range from subtle to very severe
In severe cases an MDT team is essential
Even in subtle cases people and their families may need support

17. Thank you