Group Lead: Dr Simon Hart, Consultant Physician, NHS Lothian.
Group Members: Hazel Fraser, Stroke Coordinator, NHS Fife, Rebecca Hay, Advice Line Nurse, CHSS, Prof Peter Langhorne, Professor of Stroke Care, University of Glasgow, Dr Stuart Johnston, Consultant Physician, NHS Tayside, Dr Anne Rowat, Lecturer, School of Nursing, Midwifery & Social Care, Napier University.
Critical Readers: Prof Martin Dennis, Professor of Stroke Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Margaret Somerville, Director of Advice & Support, CHSS, Kathy Bennet, Staff Nurse, NHS Grampian, Lynn Reid, Lead Training Coordinator, CHSS, Clare Adams, Project Manager, CHSS.
On completion of this module you should have a critical understanding of the relevance and importance of monitoring in acute stroke patients, understanding the relevance and the implications of investigation and management of individual patients. Further resources can on this topic can be found below.
The answers to all the test questions are contained within the module. This information may be provided within the interactives and ‘Additional Information’ on some of the pages.
Q. Now that Ray’s key executive function issues have been determined by the assessments, please choose which of the following strategies would be most useful.
Exactly which functions constitute ‘executive functioning’ is not universally agreed and sometimes different terms are employed to describe the same or very similar functions e.g. the terms ‘impulsivity’ and ‘disinhibition’ describe very similar executive problems.
For definitions of each of the above functions see Additional Information below.
Cognition refers to the workings of the mind through which we are able to make sense of the world (Zoltan 1996).
Cognition or cognitive processes refer to the ways in which we know the world around us through attention, memory and problem-solving and decision making processes (Gross 2020).
Memory involves the encoding, consolidation, storage and retrieval of information and may be maintained for short or longer periods of time (Purves, et al. 2008).
Attention is the ability to attend to some things while ignoring others and can be voluntary or automatic (Gazzaniga, Ivry & Mangun 2009).
The way we learn and behave depends on our ability to pay attention, to retain and retrieve information and to use this information to solve problems and use language. Without these abilities we would not be able to respond to new situations (Lyon 1996).
For full references see the Additional Information box below.
Cognition can be broadly divided into three areas: attention, memory and executive function. Select the hotspots on the diagram below to see a definition of each.
Dr Charlie Chung, Occupational Therapist, AHP Stroke Strategic Lead – Lothian
Group members
Dr Alan Harper, Clinical Psychologist, Fife Neuro-Rehab Service, NHS Fife
Dr Amy Mulroue, Clinical Psychologist, NHS Lothian
Clare McDonald, Principal Occupational Therapist, Fife Neuro-Rehab Service, NHS Fife
This module was originally developed by:
Group Lead: Charlie Chung, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in Stroke, NHS Fife
Group Members: Sheena Borthwick, Clinical Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, NHS Lothian Heather Bryceland, Stroke Training Coordinator, CHSS / NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Dr Alan Harper, Neuropsychologist, NHS Fife Heather Hunter, Stroke Liaison Nurse, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Nicole Whyte, Highly Specialist Occupational Therapist, NHS Fife
Critical Readers: Gill Alexander, AHP Stroke Consultant, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Joanne Curtis, Specialist Speech & Language Therapist, NHS Lanarkshire Prof Martin Dennis, Professor of Stroke Medicine, University of Edinburgh Pauline Halliday, Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist in Stroke, NHS Lothian Thomas Jones, Stroke Nurse, CHSS / NHS Lothian Margaret Somerville, Director of Advice & Support, CHSS Cait Cullinane, Occupational Therapist, Edinburgh Community Rehabilitation and Support Services
