when to consider referring friends and family

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Agnosia: failure to interpret sensory information despite primary sensory 

modalities being intact. 

Aphasia: disturbance of the comprehension or expression of language. 

Apraxia: difficulty in performing a motor task in the absence of any significant 

weakness or sensory loss. 

Atony: A lack of muscle tone.

Atrophy: Shrinkage or wasting away of an organ or tissue because of a reduction 

in the size or number of its cells. Tissue atrophy may occur secondary to cell

death, cell resorption, loss of cell volume, or diminished cellular proliferation.

The most common application of the term is muscle atrophy which may occur 

secondary to denervation (loss of nerve supply), disuse (inactivity) or muscle 

disease. 

Aura: Symptoms which occur prior to a particular neurological event such as a 

seizure or migraine that serves as a warning that additional signs or symptoms 

will follow. 

Bradykinesia: The slowing of motor movements due to dysfunction of a 

specialized group of cells in the brain called the basal ganglia. 

Cramping:  A painful muscle spasm, which may involve one or more muscles.

Dementia: An acquired loss of cognitive function that may affect language, 

attention, memory, personality and/or abstract reasoning. 

Diploplia: Double vision. 

Imbalance: Lack of equality between muscle forces leading to difficulty 

performing a task such as walking

.

Incoordination (ataxia): Inability to efficiently contract muscles in a smooth 

firing pattern during the execution of a movement.

Muscle Fasiculations: Visible or palpable twitching of muscle fibers. This can occur with diseases involving the spinal cord, nerve root, peripheral nervous system and with muscle disease.

Muscle Fatigue: A progressive loss of muscle performance associated with 

physical exertion. This may occur secondary to a loss of nerve supply to the

muscle or with deconditioning of the muscle secondary to disuse or disease.

Pain: An unpleasant sensation associated with actual or potential tissue 

damage, mediated by specific nerve fibers which carry the information to the

brain where its conscious appreciation may be modified by various factors.

Paresthesia: Unusual sensory symptoms consisting of one or more of the 

following: tingling, numbness or other abnormal sensory experiences. 

Ptosis: Drooping of the eyelids due to weakness of the muscles responsible for 

keeping the eyelids open. 

Numbness: Diminished sensation with a feeling of dullness. 

Sleep Apnea: A disorder that results in apnea (cessation of breathing) during 

sleep often secondary to obstruction of the airway. 

Spasticity: stiffness or rigidity of muscles involving the limbs, which often 

Occurs secondary to dysfunction or compromise of the corticospinal tracts (motor 

pathways). 

Tingling: A peculiar pricking sensation caused by cold, by an emotional shock or 

nerve compromise.

Tinnitus: Subjective ringing or noise in the ears. 

Tremor: An involuntary trembling movement.

Vertigo: Dizziness or imbalance that is often associated with a spinning or 

rotational component. 

Weakness: A loss or reduction of physical strength