Cognitive capacities and abilities Flashcards
Cognition
mental process of knowing; processes, and systems through perception, awareness, attention, memory, intuition, and knowledge.
Decreased awareness is a concern with safety.
Must have understanding and knowledge, judgement and decision making, and overall environmental awareness.
cognitive hierarchy
if you lose executive function ability it doesn’t necessarily affect what is below it.
what affects cognition
emotions, anxiety (effects and limits memory skills), physical or emotional pain, depression, mental distractions.
* more of our working memory
Other factors that influence cognition
task and environment
-contextual cues/stimuli (arousal properties of environment)
Social and cultural
- socio-economic status
- poverty, social deprivation
NCD
Neurocognitive disorders
changes in brain structure, function, and chemistry. A result of an acquired condition or traumatic injury.
neuroimaging=structural changes in the brain.
types of NCD deficits
- impairment in body function (motor, sensory, and cognitive)
- neurodegenerative- MS, Parkinson’s, AZ, ALS, Dementia, GB, RA
Psychological- Depression, Schizo, mood disorders, bi polar, mental illness
injuries- TBI, SCI
Mild NCD
- perform ADL’s
- problems with IADLs
- deficits in memory, difficulty recall,
- executive functions of problem solving, planning day, multitasking
Major NCD
associated with alz, huntingtons, parkinsons, heart disease
- rapid decline or gradual loss of function
- memory loss/ with or without depression
- Language and problem solving deficits.
effects of cognitive impairments
reduced efficiency and effectiveness
- reduced pace and persistence of functioning
- decreased ADL routine performance,
- difficult adapting to new or problematic situations.
Awareness
golden key- awareness of deficit.
self-efficacy helps establish clients belief in themselves
Low level of awareness
unmotivated or uncooperative in therapy
- sets unrealistic goals,
- displays poor judgement,
- fails to see need for strategies,
- longer LOS in rehab
High level of awareness
- actively participate in treatment
- achieve better rehab outcomes
- strong experiences in therapeutic relationship
- key to success
Intellectual awareness
client able to state or demonstrate knowledge of problems but not monitor problems.
- able to understand at some level that cognitive function is impaired
- unable to use strategies independently
therapy-
someone other than client initiates strategies
-self rating skills
This level is achieved when client can demonstrate knowledge of the problems and recognize general implications.
Emergent awareness
- able to demonstrate knowing when a problem is happening, as it is occurring without prompting,
- able to recognize a problem only when it is occurring.
Therapy-
strategies need to be initiated by specific situations or events
-identify and self-correct errors during actually task performance
-document through observation of clients actions/behaviors
video feedback is great
Anticipatory awareness
- able to predict or anticipate the situations in which problems can occur.
- only at this stage will client be able to implement compensatory strategies independently.
Therapy-
select strategies that trigger client recognition that problem is occurring.
-predict performance on task without commencing and select right compensatory strategies.
assessments- interview, self-report, strength, perceptions.
self rating assessments
upon completion of task, clients and therapist rate/score on their own of what they think their score is.
use graph every time
always have a pre and post
awareness how do you get them there
ASK QUETIONS and ask questions while you observe them.
Attention
Backbone of cognitive rehab.
- attention skills underlie all other cognitive skills.
- inability to pay attention is one of the main reasons memory and cognitive impairments occur.
-it is the ability to focus, notice taken if someone or something is interesting or important as well as the action of taking care of someone or something.
Selective attention
select the most important thing
difficulty with
distracted
Alternating attention
switch from one task to another
difficulty with
confused
Divided attention
attend to two or more things at once
difficulty with
multi-tasking
Directed attention
Manage attention
difficulty with
executive functions
Sustained attention
maintain consistency
difficulty with
impulsivity
Focused attention
discretely stay attended
difficulty with
Perseveration
selective attention interventions
-visual selective attention strategies
have them find words in a book
-Auditory selective attention strategies
read words and have cl. tap when they hear it
alternating/shifting attention
-nothing other than two tasks
Divided attention
-ability to do several things at once
Direction attention
- ability to manage attention
- -stroop effect test
Sustained attention
– group of clients count aloud and every multiple of 6 or number with 6 in it they have to say buzz
Focused attention
- word generation activities (as many animals that start with B)
- cancelation tasks
- dot to dot
Memory
A pattern of connections between neurons
- proper retention and ordering of knowledge
- brain needs cues and techniques to remember
- memory gives us the ability to draw from past experiences and learn new information
provides sense of continuity in the environment.
- Attend
- Encode
- Storage
- Recall
STM
stores information temporarily and determines if it will be dismissed or transferred on to long term memory.
Repetition/practice strategies aid in transferring to LTM
Working memory
manipulation,
holds information in mind while performing complex tasks
Non-declarative memory
unconscious recall- memory of skills and knowing how to do things, particularly the use of objects or movements of the body.
Priming-exposure to a stimulus influences response
Habitual memory- well rehearsed, unconscious, behavioral routines
Procedural memory- Unconscious memory of “how” to do things or perform tasks. body memories
Declarative memory
memories which can be consciously recalled (facts, knowledge, and events)
Semantic memory- recall of factual knowledge, historical events
Episodic memory- storage of personal significant past events such as weddings, trips, school events
Retrograde amnesia
common consequence of brain damage
loss of ones personal past after trauma
memory often recovers
Anterograde amnesia
Client can’t recall, day to day or present events
past memory intact, LTM
Difficulty transferring STM and develop new LTM
Executive function
comprised of:
Initiation/drive
-inhibition response or capacity to stop behavior
-task persistence to maintain behaviors
awareness- monitor and modify one’s own behavior
