Hemiplegia

From Psy3241

Hemiplegia Hemiplegia is defined as total or partial paralyses of one side of the body that results from disease of or injury to the motor centers of the brain.

Causes

Hemiplegia can be congenital, which is occurring before, during, or soon after birth, or acquired as from illness or stroke. The general cause of Hemiplegia is interruption of blood supply via the mid-celebral artery. Can be due to: Aneurysm, Haemorrhage, Clot

Improvements

Many time patients with Hemiplegia can get better. This is because hemiplegia can also affect adjacent neurons where activity ia affected by change in blood supply. In later stages these neurons can go back to normal level of functioning, helping the patient in achieving movement. Also different parts of the brain can learn to hadle body movements, after long periods of hemiplegia. Most children with congenital hemiplegia have a normal IQ and will attend mainstream school. Although language is usually well preserved (irrespective of which hemisphere is involved), specific learning difficulties are found in one-third and must be recognized early.

Overcoming Hemiplegia [1]

References: Striling, J. Introducing Neuropsuchology. New York. Psychology Press. 2002.