Synonyms
Brain disease
Definition
Encephalopathy is a nonspecific term that refers to diffuse dysfunction within the brain that causes disturbances in function and mental status. Encephalopathy can also be associated with either morphological changes within the brain or metabolic imbalances. It originates from a variety of factors including, but not limited to, genetic susceptibility/mutation, traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident, psychiatric disorders, toxic agents, and systemic disease. Encephalopathy can either be acute (i.e., sudden onset such as metabolic encephalopathy or traumatic brain injury), chronic (i.e., gradual deterioration such as dementia, HIV, or schizophrenia), or static (i.e., a nonprogressive abnormality such as mental retardation).
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References and Reading
Blumenfeld, H. (2010). Neuroanatomy through clinical cases, 2nd edition. Sutherland: Sinauer Associates.
Kumar, V., Fausto, N., & Abbas, A. (2004). Robbins & Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders.
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Larson, J.C.G., Suchy, Y. (2018). Encephalopathy. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_524
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_524
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