Stephen L. Aita, PhD

#Neuropsychologist & #AssistantProfessor
Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama, Department of Neurology @usacollegeofmed

[The PhD Place @ThePhDPlace]

Me: I just published a paper in a very prestigious journal

Friend: Congratulations! How much did they pay you?

Me:

[Oren Gottfried, MD @OGdukeneurosurg]

Brain parts

[William Kilgo, MD, FAAN @wilgokilgo]

Excited to welcome our newest PGY1 class to @USAneuro!

[William Kilgo, MD, FAAN @wilgokilgo]

Excited to call and welcome our five newest PGY1 residents to @USAneuro this Friday! #Match2026
@TheNRMP

[Lea Alhilali, MD @teachplaygrub]

Anyone can see the bright spot on diffusion—what sets you apart is if you can tell them why it’s there!

Can you tell a stroke’s etiology from its appearance on MRI?

Main stroke types:

Artery to artery embolism
—Vulnerable plaque ruptures & causes clot formation
—Occludes the artery & distal blood flow
—Makes a wedge shape

Distal hypoperfusion:
—At the border zones
—Remember borderzones almost look like a fancy letter H for Hypoperfusion = two vertical lines (ant, internal watershed) that have curls at each end (ant & post external watersheds)

Vasculitis
—Inflammation ofvessel wall
—Idiopathic, autoimmune, or infectious
—Remember: Vascu-LIGHT-us = tons of little regions LIGHT up on DWI
—Remember Vascu-LITE-us = usually in LITE vessels or small vessel territories

Impingement on perforators:
—Large vessel plaque covers opening of small perforator in its wall
—Perforators affect the Ps = pons, putamen (lenticulostriate)

Small vessel dz
—Many different pathologies that cause occlusion of small, unnamed vessels
—Remember: Small & subcortical both start w/—tend to be subcortical

Cardioembolic
—Emboli from heart stasis or vegetations
—Remember: Emboli & everywhere both start w/E = emboli go everywhere

So now you know how different etiologies have different distributions on MRI.

Remember, catching a stroke on DWI isn’t the end of your job—it’s the beginning!

[Oren Gottfried, MD @OGdukeneurosurg]

Most call it a stroke but in old days cva was optional but by that logic we would call coronary artery accident for heart attacks

[Lea Alhilali, MD @teachplaygrub]

This one's for me!!

I was tired of seeing small MCA infarcts that were clearly from a branch occlusion& not knowing the name of the branch that was occluded!

I decided I would find a way to remember these territories myself-and then share it w/ you!!

Here's how you can remember the different territories

Start w/4 cardinal territories
-These are the skeleton from which you can remember the rest

Orbitofrontal: Easy, it overlies orbit in the frontal region, like its name

Central: East, it's the territory surrounding central sulcus

Angular: Easy, it literally looks like an angle between parietal & temporal region

Polar: Easy, it's the temporal pole!

Bc it's the MCA, there is an M or two humps between each of these cardinal branch territories & their names reflect the anatomy

Finally, the temporal territories look like fingers on a hand:

Polar is the thumb of the hand: remember polar sounds pollex which means thumb

Middle temporal is literally the middle finger!!

Now you know the middle cerebral branch territories— so your reports will never be middling!

[MedicoNotes @MedicoNotes]

🧠 Neuroanatomy at a Glance

⸻

📍 Cortical Areas Simplified

➊ Frontal Lobe
• Motor Cortex → Voluntary movement
• Broca’s Area → Speech production (left hemisphere)
• Prefrontal Cortex → Judgment, planning

➋ Parietal Lobe
• Sensory Cortex → Touch, temperature, proprioception
• Sensory Association Area → Object recognition

➌ Temporal Lobe
• Auditory Cortex → Hearing
• Wernicke’s Area → Language comprehension (left hemisphere)

➍ Occipital Lobe
• Visual Cortex → Processes visual input

⸻

🗣️ Aphasia Breakdown

➊ Broca’s (Expressive) Aphasia
- Location: Frontal lobe
- Symptoms:
•Struggles to form words (non-fluent)
•Understands speech but can’t reply clearly
•Frustrated but aware

➋ Wernicke’s (Receptive) Aphasia
- Location: Temporal lobe
- Symptoms:
•Fluent but nonsensical speech (“word salad”)
•Can’t comprehend spoken/written words
•Unaware of errors (anosognosia)

Mnemonic:
•“Broca = Broken speech”
•“Wernicke = What did you say?”

⸻

👶 Homunculus Cheat Sheet

• Face & Hands → Large lateral representation
• Legs → Small medial area
• Stroke Clues:
•MCA stroke: Affects face/arm
•ACA stroke: Affects legs

Fun Fact: Tongue movement is controlled by both brain hemispheres!

⸻

⚡ Quick Clinical Pearls

• Frontal Lobe Damage → Disinhibition, personality changes
• Parietal Lobe Lesion → Neglect syndrome (ignores one side)
• Temporal Lobe Seizure → Smell/taste hallucinations

⸻

📚 Visit our website for more high-yield neurology notes:
https://t.co/2UQyCbb6in

⸻

#MedEd #MedicalEducation #DoctorsOfInstagram #MedicalStudents #FutureDoctor #Medicine #MedLife #Healthcare #MedicalSchool #USMLE

[Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry @JNNP_BMJ]

Sports-related concussion not associated with long-term cognitive or behavioural deficits https://t.co/BtyzmznJbA

[Oren Gottfried, MD @OGdukeneurosurg]

Cranial nerves

[Dr sthanu subramanian @drsthanus]

A summary of different CNS Contrast Enhancement Patterns visible on MRI scans.

https://t.co/qGlpQCEKNv

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

🔔New paper🔔
"Deliberate heat exposure for #depressive #disorders: A #systematicreview & #metaanalysis"

We found a small but consistent effect of heat therapy for treating #depression across 7 randomized controlled trials. #RCTs #sauna

@usacollegeofmed

https://t.co/sL3xXvUv3z

[Lea Alhilali, MD @teachplaygrub]

Here’s a head start on head CT anatomy!!

Cisterns: think “CT loves clear space.”
If it’s dark space around the brainstem, that’s a cistern.

Suprasellar = the starfish, S is for star and Suprasellar!

Ambient = hugging the midbrain. Remember Amb-brace cistern, it embraces the midbrain!

Quadrigeminal = the smile behind it. Remember, you are GEM if you smile!!

Lobes made easy:
Frontal lobe = Get in FRONT of things = planning, personality, decisions.

Parietal lobe = “pair-ietal” = pair of hands to feel things = sensation and spatial awareness.

Temporal lobe = Remember conTEMPlation =memory. And remember tempo = hearing

Occipital lobe = “optic-pital” in the back = vision.

Hopefully this will help you wrap your head around CT head anatomy!!

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

🔔New pub🔔We conducted a twin study on sexual behaviors & found a #genetic link:

"Pilot evidence of #genetic and environmental contributions to problematic #pornography use, pornography use frequency, & moral disapproval to pornography" @sexmedjournals
https://t.co/QimPLwGyAO

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

@usacollegeofmed #ketamine #psilocybin #MDMA

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

🔔And to share a final paper we put out this year:

"Far Out: #Psychedelics are Becoming a Current Treatment Option in #Psychiatry"

My close friend (Nicholas Borgogna) & I opine on pros & cons of #psychedelic assisted therapy for #mentalhealth disorders.
https://t.co/jvWQD2ql7b

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

@usacollegeofmed @MuscleAndNerve

[Stephen L. Aita, PhD @AitaPhD]

2025 had its highs and lows. Rounding off the year with some new pubs!

"The #Disparities in #MyastheniaGravis #ClinicalTrial Enrollment in the #UnitedStates and #Canada

We evaluate trends in demographic representation in myasthenia gravis pharma trials.
https://t.co/i8gHrod5pc