Lesson 8: Dementia and Alzheimers Disease

Sunday, 31 March 13

Question from Lesson 7

Some people think that age-related memory decline is inevitable and applies to all forms of memory. Are these people correct? Provide reasons for your answers.

Sunday, 31 March 13

Question from Lesson 7

Some people think that age-related memory decline is inevitable and applies to all forms of memory. Are these people correct? Provide reasons for your answers.

Older people Do take longer to learn new information

STM – Depends on the task, easy one part tasks are ok. Tasks that require divided attention are challenging for older people.

LTM - Episodic down, Procedural same, Semantic Same

Sunday, 31 March 13

Large group of neurodegenerative diseases that cause a decline in mental functioning.

Dementia

Dementia develops progressively with loss of memory an initial onset symptom

Sunday, 31 March 13

• The most common form of dementia• Accounts for 50 – 70% of dementia• Neurodegenerative disease that causes wide spread cell

death• Causes decline in all aspects of cognitive function• Post-mortems reveal deposits of plaque along the

damaged synapses• These plaques and tangles effect neural transmission

Alzheimer’s Disease

Sunday, 31 March 13

• 100,000 Australians effected• 1 in 25 over 60• 1 in 8 over 80• No simple diagnostic test – really only know for sure

when post-mortem conducted• Symptoms are different for each person further

complicating diagnosis

Alzheimer’s Disease

Sunday, 31 March 13

Alzheimer’s Disease

Sunday, 31 March 13

Typical memory loss includes• Events• Words and names• Written and verbal directions• Stories, TV, Movies, Books• Semantic memory decline• Procedural memories

Personality changes can also occur..........

Alzheimer’s Disease - symptoms

Sunday, 31 March 13

• Show high levels of the protein Amyloid• Highly toxic – causes cell death• Causes the development of the plaques and tangles• Brains also have a massive lack of acetylcholine (an

important neurotransmitter)

Alzheimer’s Disease – Post-mortem

Why are you in my brain amy loid??? She likes to play twister and tangle things up. Doesn’t brush her teeth and leaves Plaque everywhere! She drinks all the acetylcholine mouthwash

Sunday, 31 March 13

Alzheimer’s Disease - a race to the cure

Sunday, 31 March 13