| Neurological Deficit / Named Sign |
Likely Lesion Location |
Notes / Examples |
| Hemiplegia / Hemiparesis | Contralateral motor cortex or corticospinal tract above medulla | MCA stroke → opposite side weakness |
| Quadriplegia | Bilateral cervical spinal cord or brainstem | High cervical injury, brainstem infarct |
| Paraplegia | Thoracic spinal cord | Trauma, tumor, transverse myelitis |
| Monoplegia | Cortical motor area or peripheral nerve | Stroke, plexopathy |
| Foot drop | Common peroneal nerve, L5 root | Peripheral neuropathy, disc prolapse |
| Wrist drop | Radial nerve | Humeral fracture, lead poisoning |
| Babinski sign | Corticospinal tract (UMN lesion) | Stroke, MS |
| Hoffman sign | Corticospinal tract | Cervical myelopathy |
| Clasp-knife rigidity | UMN lesion | Stroke, spinal cord injury |
| Cogwheel rigidity | Basal ganglia | Parkinson’s disease |
| Chorea | Basal ganglia | Huntington’s disease |
| Hemiballismus | Subthalamic nucleus | Stroke |
| Loss of touch/pain/temp (one side) | Contralateral parietal lobe or sensory tract | MCA stroke, thalamic lesion |
| Loss of vibration & proprioception | Dorsal columns | Posterior cord syndrome |
| Sensory level on trunk | Spinal cord | Transverse myelitis |
| Glove-and-stocking sensory loss | Peripheral neuropathy | Diabetes |
| Paresthesia | Peripheral nerve / spinal cord / cortex | Multiple causes |
| Allodynia | Thalamus / sensory pathway | Post-stroke pain |
| Romberg sign | Dorsal columns or vestibular system | Positive if unsteady with eyes closed |
| Lhermitte sign | Cervical spinal cord (dorsal columns) | MS, B12 deficiency |
| Astereognosis | Contralateral parietal lobe | Cannot identify object by touch |
| Agraphesthesia | Parietal lobe | Cannot identify numbers traced on skin |
| Facial weakness (upper+lower) | Ipsilateral facial nerve | Bell’s palsy |
| Facial weakness (lower only) | Contralateral motor cortex | UMN lesion |
| Diplopia | CN III, IV, VI or brainstem | Stroke, MS |
| Ptosis | CN III or sympathetic pathway | Horner’s, CN III palsy |
| Anisocoria | CN III or sympathetic pathway | Horner’s, CN III palsy |
| Bitemporal hemianopia | Optic chiasm | Pituitary adenoma |
| Homonymous hemianopia | Optic tract/radiations/occipital cortex | Stroke, tumor |
| Internuclear ophthalmoplegia | MLF in brainstem | Multiple sclerosis |
| Kernig sign | Meningeal irritation | Meningitis |
| Brudzinski sign | Meningeal irritation | Meningitis |
| Dysarthria & dysphagia | Medulla / CN IX, X, XII | Lateral medullary syndrome |
| Loss of corneal reflex | CN V (sensory) or VII (motor) | Brainstem lesion |
| Loss of gag reflex | CN IX, X | Brainstem lesion |
| Ataxia | Cerebellum (ipsilateral) | Stroke, tumor |
| Dysdiadochokinesia | Cerebellar hemisphere | Inability for rapid alternating movements |
| Intention tremor | Cerebellar hemisphere | MS, stroke |
| Nystagmus | Cerebellum / vestibular | Vestibular neuritis |
| Hypotonia | Cerebellum | Acute lesion |
| Rebound phenomenon | Cerebellum | Failure to stop movement |
| Titubation | Midline cerebellum | Head tremor |
| Wide-based gait | Cerebellum | Midline lesion |
| Aphasia | Dominant hemisphere | Broca’s/Wernicke’s area |
| Apraxia | Dominant parietal lobe | Cannot perform learned movement |
| Neglect | Non-dominant parietal lobe | Right parietal stroke → left neglect |
| Agnosia | Parietal/occipital/temporal cortex | Failure to recognize objects |
| Alexia without agraphia | Dominant occipital cortex + splenium corpus callosum | Stroke |
| Gerstmann syndrome | Dominant parietal lobe (angular gyrus) | Agraphia, acalculia, finger agnosia, L-R disorientation |
| Seizures with focal signs | Cerebral cortex | Epilepsy, tumor |
| Acute confusion + memory loss | Bilateral hippocampus / diffuse cortex | Hypoxia, encephalitis |
| Ophthalmoplegia + ataxia + confusion | Midbrain | Wernicke’s encephalopathy |
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