how do we remember

Question 1

dementia definition

Answer 1

progressive
global deterioration in cognitive fn -> interferes w/ social and occupational fn
but still have clear state of consciousness

rising incidence of dementia
NOT simply an inevitable consequence of aging

Question 2

clinical features of dementia

Answer 2

difficulty learning and retaining new information
language problems - difficulty in expressing & conversing
difficulty in handling complex tasks - tasks that require many steps (finances, cooking)
behavior alterations - less responsive, more irritable
loss of reasoning
loss of spatial ability and orientation

Question 3

Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 3

caused by hippocampal atrophy (within temporal lobe - for learning and memory)

Question 4

diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease

Answer 4

accumulation of beta amyloid plaques - detected w/ MRI and PET scan (appears really colourful and red)

Question 5

prevention of dementia

Answer 5

active lifestyle (good diet, mental and physical activities: exercise, brain training), socially integrated
reduce vascular risk
build cognitive reserve
reduce stress

Question 6

memory process

Answer 6

encoding (working -> long term memory)
storage
retrieval

stages

1. sensory memory
2. working (short term) memory
3. long term memory

Question 7

sensory memory

Answer 7

large capacity
very short duration
elective attention

Question 8

long term memory

Answer 8

infinite capacity and duration

Question 9

dementia imaging

Answer 9

• structural: CT, MRI, MRA, DTI

- PET scan

Question 10

imaging fn

Answer 10

identify location & problems

• Alzheimer’s: cortical and hippocampal atrophy
• frontal-temporal dementia
• location of infarct (appears white)
• artery occlusion (in COW)

Question 11

dementia early warning symptoms

Answer 11

• difficulty learning and retaining new information
• language problem: expressing and following conversations
• handling complex tasks
• loss of reasoning ability
• loss of spatial ability and orientation