Brain Injury Glossary & Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
Agraphia	loss of ability to write.
Algorithmic problem solving	reasoning that relies on a step-by-step problem solving approach.
Ambulate	the ability to walk.
Amusia	inability to distinguish timbre, beats, tone or sing or hum a tune.
Anosagnosia	lack of awareness of illness or disability.
Aphasia	inability to express oneself by speech, writing or signs (expressive aphasia) or comprehend spoken or written language (receptive aphasia) due to injury or disease of the brain.
Apperceptive agnosia	inability to sense incoming information in its discrete parts and elements but failing to make sense of it.
Apractognosia	a combination of an apraxia and an agnosia. (motor planning problems and inability to recognize the import of the sensory input.)
Apraxia	the inability to carry out purposeful or skilled acts due to impairment in cognitive processing from brain damage but which is not a result of weakness, failure to comprehend what is required, poor co-ordination or sensory loss. (There are different labels of apraxia depending on the deficits noted.)
Asynergy	lack of cooperation or harmony between opposing muscle groups due to abnormal muscles are in use.)
Ataxia	inco-ordination of rate, range, speed, force and direction of muscle movement. (Evident only when muscles are in use.)
Attention span	the length of time a person can sustain his concentration on an activity.
Auditory agnosia	inability to comprehend and discriminate sounds.
Automatic speech	words or phrases used without voluntary control, following a brain injury. (typically greetings, common sayings, swearing.)
Autotopognosia	difficulty localizing and naming one’s own body parts.
Avocalia	inability to vocalize.
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B
Bilateral	involving both sides of the body.
Brain stem	the part of the brain that connects the spinal cord to the cerebral hemispheres.
Broca’s aphasia	a speech problem where the patient knows what he wishes to say but cannot utter the words.
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C
Chunking of memory	a process whereby information to be remembered is reduced and reorganized into groups or meaningful chunks so that it will fit into the available memory span.
Closure	the ability to “figure out” what the whole picture would be when only a portion is visible.
Contracture	long term tightness in the muscles, ligaments and capsule surrounding a joint, preventing full range of movement.
Cognition	a term used to describe how we become aware of knowing-involving perceiving, thinking and remembering.
Conservation	the understanding or recognition that matter can change in its presentation but it cannot be created or destroyed.
Convergent thinking	reasoning that strives for the main point of theme, (categorizing).
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D
Deductive reasoning	reasoning that relies on systematic elimination of possibilities.
Divergent thinking	reasoning that encourages a new perspective on a problem and a hypothesis that does not follow the “normal” track.
Dys	prefix meaning difficulty with, partial absence.
Dysarthria	difficulty speaking clearly due to problems with muscular control of the mouth (lips, tongue, plate.)
Dysmetria	errors in range of movement i.e.: reaching too far or not reaching far enough.
Dysphagia	difficulty with swallowing.
Dysphasia	having difficulty with the ability to express oneself by speech, writing or signs or written language due to injury to the brain.
E
Extension	the act of straightening a joint.
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F
Fine motor control	the use of the small muscles of the arm and hand (or legs and feet) to manipulate objects with precision, may involve eye-hand co-ordination.
Flaccidity	abnormal decrease in muscle tone resulting in less resistance to passive and active movement. (also called hypotonicity.)
Flexion	the act of bending a joint.
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G
Gait training	instructions given to improve the manner of style of walking, with or without aids/equipment.
Gross motor activities	the use of the large muscle groups of the arms, legs or trunk in order to balance, maintain or change positions of the body. i.e.: rolling, sitting, jumping.
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H
Haematoma	a mass of blood (usually clotted) confined to an organ, tissue or space and caused by a break in a blood vessel.
Hemi	prefix meaning half.
Hemianopsia	loss of vision of one half of the visual field.
Hemiparesis	weakness of one side of the body.
Hemiplegia	paralysis of one side of the body.
Hemisomatagnosia	sided neglect of the body. (hemi = half; somat (o) = the body; agnosia = inability to recognize the import of the sensory input.)
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I
Ideational apraxia	inability to develop or carry out a plan of motor movement while retaining the ability to carry our the action through imitation.
Ideomotor apraxia	despite knowing what action is required, the individual appears unable to recruit the proper motor movement on command, but can carry it out inadvertently.
Inductive reasoning	reasoning that relies on an educated guess based on possibility and plausibility and based on understanding cause and effect fundamentals.
Intention tremor	tremor most evident at the end of a fine motor movement.
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M
Mnemonic devices	specific word tricks used to enhance memory by strengthening associations.
Motor planning problems	see apraxia.
Muscle tone	the tension present within a muscle at rest or with movement.
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N
Neutral warmth	a technique to decrease spasticity by wrapping a portion of a client’s body in a light blanket, utilizing the client’s body warmth to aid relaxation.
O
Orientation	correct awareness of time, place, and person (self and others).
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P
Perception	the cognitive awareness of objects by shape, size, color, space, texture, and the integration of sensory impressions into meaningful information.
Perseveration	continuance of one’s reply or idea in response to various questions or instructions; continuance of any activity after cessation of the causative stimulus.
Prone	lying face down.
Proprioception	the sensory ability to determine where your limbs are in space without looking at them.
Prosopagnosia	inability to recognize familiar faces.
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Q
Quadraparesis	weakness or lack of control of all four limbs resulting from brain injury or spinal cord injury.
R
R.O.M.	the range of movement or motion of a joint.
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S
Seizures	disturbances of the electrical activity of the brain, usually from local irritation of the brain-resulting in spontaneous brain activity. This may be manifested as temporary abnormal motor movements, altered consciousness or sensory disturbances etc.
Sensation	information received by the brain from our primary senses of taste, smell, sight, hearing, and touch.
Simultaneous agnosia	inability to recognize more than one stimulus configuration at a time.
Spasticity	abnormal increase in muscle tone or stiffness, resulting in more resistance to passive and active movement. (also called hypertonicity).
Supine	lying face up.
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U
Unilateral	involving one side of the body. (also referred to as “hemi”.)
W
Wernicke’s aphasia	motor speech function is maintained but the individual may spew grammatically and syntactically correct nonsense.

From “Pathways to Recovery,” A Handbook for Volunteers Working with Brain Injured Adults, the Association for the Rehabilitation of the Brain Injured.

Note: “a” means absence, without, not. “dys” mean partial absence, difficult. i.e.: Many people frequently, but incorrectly, use the word aphasia when they mean dysphasia.