| Term |
Definition |
| Agnosia | The inability to interpret information |
| Agraphesthesia | The inability to recognize symbols, letters or numbers traced on the skin |
| Agraphia | The inability to write due to a lesion within the brain |
| Akinesia | The inability to initiate movement; commonly seen in patients with Parkinson's disease. |
| Aphasia | The inability to communicate or comprehend due to damage to specific areas of the brain. |
| Apraxia | The inability to perform purposeful learned movements, although there is no sensory or motor impairments |
| Astereognosis | The inability to recognize objects by sense of touch |
| Ataxia | The inability to perform coordinated movements |
| Athetosis | A condition that presents with involuntary movements combined with instability of posture. Peripheral movements occur without central stability |
| Bradykinesia | Movement that is very slow |
| Broca's aphasia | An infarct to a specific area of the frontal lobe that produces the inability to verbally communicate. Speech is difficult, but comprehension is usually functional or normal |
| Chorea | Movements that are sudden, random, and involuntary |
| Clonus | A characteristic of an upper motor neuron lesion; involuntary alternating spasmotic contraction of a muscle precipitated by a quick stretch reflex. |
| Constructional apraxia | The inability to reproduce geometric figures and designs. This person is visually unable to analyze how to perform a task. |
| Decerebrate rigidity | A characteristic of a corticospinal lesion at the level of the brainstem that results in extension of the trunk and all extremities. |
| Decorticate rigidity | A characteristic of a corticospinal lesion at the level of the diencephalon where the trunk and lower extremities are posititoned in extension and the upper extremities are positioned in flexion |
| Diplopia | Double vision |
| Dysarthria | Slurred and impaired speech due to a motor deficit of the tongue or other muscles essential for speech. |
| Dysdiadochokinesia | The inability to perform rapidly alternating movements. |
| Dysmetria | The inability to control the range of movement and the force of a muscular activity. |
| Dysphagia | The inability to properly swallow. |
| Dystonia | Closely related to athetosis, however there is larger axial muscle involvement rather than appendicular muscles. |
| Emotional lability | A characteristic of a right hemisphere infarct where there is an inability to control emotions and outbursts of laughing and crying that are inconsistent with the situation |
| Expressive aphasia | A condition due to a lesion within the brain where language and communication skills such as reading, writing, and speaking are impaired. |
| Global aphasia | A type of aphasia that presents with both expressive and receptive deficits. Prognosis for recovery of speech is usually poor. The patient's speech is nonfluent and comprehension is significantly impaired. |
| Hemiballism | An involuntary and violent movement of a large body part. |
| Hemiparesis | A condition of weakness on one side of the body. |
| Hemiplegia | A condition of paralysis on one side of the body. |
| Homonymous hemianopsia | The loss of the right or left half of the field of vision in both eyes. |
| Ideational apraxia | The inability to formulate an initial motor plan and sequence tasks where the proprioceptive input necessary for movement is impaired. |
| Ideomotor apraxia | A condition where a person plans a movement or task but cannot volitionally perform it. Automatic movement may occur, however, a person cannot impose additional movement on command. |
| Kinesthesia | The ability to perceive the direction and extent of movement of a joint or body part. |
| Neglect | The inability to interpret stimuli on the left side of the body due to a lesion on the right frontal lobe of the brain. |
| Perseveration | The state of repeatedly performing the same segment of a task or repeatedly saying the same word/phrase without purpose. |
| Proprioception | The ability to perceive the static position of a joint or body part. |
| Receptive aphasia | The inability to comprehend normal speech |
| Rigidity | A state of severe hypertonicity where a sustained muscle joint contraction does not allow for any movement at a specified joint. |
| Synergy | A result of brain damage that presents with mass movement patterns that are primitive in nature and coupled with spasticity. |
| Wernicke's aphasia | An infarct to a specific area of the temporal lobe that severely affects the patient's level of comprehension. The person is usually able to verbalize, but is frequently nonfunctional. |
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