Study Guide Q's: Cog Changes Flashcards
What are the 6 cog domains?
Complex Attention: sustained, divided, selective, processing, speed
Social Cognition: recognition of emotions, theory of mind, insight
Learning/Memory: free recall, cued recall, recognition memory, semantic and autobiographical memory, implicit learning
Language: object naming, word finding, fluency, grammar and syntax, receptive language
Perceptual Motor Function: visual perception, visuoconstructional reasoning, perceptual motor coordination
Executive Function: planning, decision making, working memory, responding to feedback inhibition, flexibility
Sensory memory subsets (3)
- Iconic (visual)
- Echoic (auditory)
- Haptic (touch)
Sensory memory definition
- Input from the 5 senses
- Can be ignored or perceived and transferred to short term memory in <1 sec
Sensory memory changes with age
Stable except for sensory impairment that may occur with age (eg. visual loss)
Sensory memory brain location
Initial input to the sensory areas of the brain then processed by the hippocampus
Short term working memory definition
how long does it take to process?
- Limited capacity
- Temporary recall
- Processed in 10-15 seconds long term storage or decay
Short term working memory changes with age
stable, but may require more effort to encode before decay
Short term working memory location
prefrontal cortex
Long term memory (implicit)
Subconscious influence of previously encountered information on subsequent performance, automatic, rote
long term implicit memory changes with age
stable
remains intact until late in a cognitive disease state
long term implicit memory location (4)
cerebellum
putamen
caudate nucleus
motor cortex
another term for implicit memory
procedural
Long term declarative memory (semantic) definition
structured facts, meanings, concepts, and knowledge
long term memory explicit (declarative) semantic age related changes
gradual and linear decline across lifespan, primarily associated with encoding and retrieval
explicit (declarative semantic) memory areas of the brain
prefrontal cortex
temporal cortex
explicit (declarative) episodic memory definition
autobiographical of events, contextual knowledge, and associated emotions
Age related changes to explicit (declaritive) episodic
Gradual and linear decline across the lifespan, primarily associated with the encoding and retrieval
long term memory explicit (declaritive) episodic definition
autobiographical of events, contextual knowledge, and associated emotions
explicit declaritive episodic long term memory areas of the brain
hippocampus connects various sensory areas of the brain to create an episode that is consolidated to one event
differences in delirum and dementia
- Differences in dementia and delirium
- Onset
- Duration
- Attention
- Consciousness
- Speech
- Cause
- Other features
- Generally: Delirium typically has a rapid onset (hours to days) and is a sign of an underlying condition (e.g. UTI, medication, anesthesia, infection, encephalopathy) in older adults. It is short duration and typically resolves once the underlying condition has been addressed. Dementia is more gradual in onset (weeks, months, years) and is not caused by a different condition.
types of delirium (3)
- Hyperactive
- Hypoactive
- Mixed
Delirium is associated with:
- Increased length of stay (LOS)
- Prolonged recovery times
- Institutionalized care
- Increased morbidity and mortality
Pathophysiology of delirium
- Brain structural changes
- Cortical atrophy
- White matter lesions
- Neurotransmitter disturbance in central cholinergic and adrenergic pathways
- Elevated inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-8)
- Multifactorial in older adults
Prevention and management of delirium
- what percentage of cases are preventable?*
- what 3 classes of drugs are linked to delirium?*
- At least 30-40% of cases are preventable
- Determine cause and remediate ASAP
- Drugs linked to delirium
- Psychoactive agents
- Narcotics
- Anticholinergics
Delirium non pharm management (5)
- Cognitive orientation
- Early mobility
- Enabling adequate hearing and vision
- Promoting a normal sleep wake cycle
- Proper nutrition/hydration
Dementia definition
- Definition: a clinical syndrome of cognitive and functional decline, usually of a chronic or progressive nature
- Definition: a global impairment impacting intellectual functioning, memory, and at least one of the following:
- Abstract thinking
- Judgment and language
- Identification of people and objects
- Personality changes
- Ability to use object appropriately
- Cognitive deficits that cause significant impairment in occupational or social functioning that is a decline from previously higher-level functioning
- Diagnosed through a semi-structured interview, detailed medical and neurologic examination, neurocognitive testing
vascular dementia incidence and key features
- is onset abrupt or gradual?*
- is memory loss more or less severe than AD?*
Incidence: 20-30% cases
Key Features:
- Associated with cerebrovascular disease
- More often abrupt onset, but can be gradual with small vessel disease
- Memory loss is usually less severe than AD
- Mood changes and apathy are common
- Can occur in conjunction with AD (mixed dementia)
vascular dementia affected brain areas
- Medial temporal atrophy
- Cortical and subcortical regions
vascular dementia clinical symptoms (3)
- Impaired attention
- Difficulties with complex activities
- Disorganized thought
dementia with lewy body incidence
8% of dementia cases (frequently under-dx and mis-dx)