What happens when the internal capsule is damaged?

Damage to this area can affect functions like speaking, chewing, and swallowing. As a result, individuals may struggle to swallow (dysphagia), have difficulty with eating, and/or struggle with speech (dysarthria and other motor speech disorders) after an internal capsule stroke.

What does the internal capsule in the brain do?

The internal capsule allows communication between areas of the cerebral cortex and areas of the brainstem. These connections are made possible by the pathways of the internal capsule and are necessary for physical movement and perception of sensory information.

What does internal capsule mean?

The internal capsule is a white matter structure situated in the inferomedial part of each cerebral hemisphere of the brain. It carries information past the basal ganglia, separating the caudate nucleus and the thalamus from the putamen and the globus pallidus.

What part of the brain is the internal capsule?

The internal capsule is a white matter structure of the brain. It is located in the inferomedial part of each cerebral hemisphere. More specifically, it is situated lateral to the thalamus and caudate nucleus, and medial to the lentiform nucleus.

Why is the internal capsule vulnerable to the damaging effects of adverse vascular events?

IC CVA. The internal capsule is prone to cerebrovascular accidents because the perforating arteries that supply the region are predisposed to occlusion or rupture due to their small diameter.

Is an internal capsule stroke a lacunar stroke?

Clinical Findings in Internal Capsular Stroke Known as one of the classic types of lacunar infarcts, a pure motor stroke is the result of an infarct in the internal capsule. Pure motor stroke caused by an infarct in the internal capsule is the most common lacunar syndrome.

What runs through the internal capsule?

The internal capsule is a compact fiber bundle in the cleft between the lenticular nucleus, the thalamus, and the head of the caudate nucleus. Nearly all information in and out of the cerebral cortex passes through the internal capsule.

What does internal capsule connect?

Ascending and descending fiber tracts course within the internal capsule to connect the cerebral hemispheres with subcortical structures, the brainstem, and the spinal cord. The internal capsule can subdivide into the anterior limb, genu, posterior limb, retrolenticular segment, and sublenticular segment.

What is connected by the internal capsule?

What goes through internal capsule?

The internal capsule is one of the subcortical structures of the brain. The lenticulostriate arteries are small penetrating blood vessels that supply blood flow to most of the subcortical structures.

Is internal capsule motor and sensory?

The internal capsule, a white matter structure, is a unique location where a large number of motor and sensory fibers travel to and from the cortex. Damage of any kind in this location will cause some relatively unique findings that can allow you to localize the lesions to the internal capule by exam alone.