TOPIC 4

Question 1

What is cognition?

Answer 1

• mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding
• through thought, experiences and senses

Question 2

What is cognitive function?

Answer 2

• involving conscious intellectual activity
• thinking, reasoning, remembering

Question 3

Grey matter role and age related changes

Answer 3

• transmits information
• Volume decreases (neurons and connections)

Question 4

White matter role and age related changes

Answer 4

• Interprets sensory information
• volume decreases greater than grey matter

Question 5

What is Crystallised intelligence

Answer 5

general knowledge, skills and ability

• improves 6th-7th decades

Question 6

What is fluid intelligence

Answer 6

• reasoning and problem solving
• processing and learning new info

Question 7

What is attention

Answer 7

• the ability to focus and concentrate

Question 8

what is selective attention

Answer 8

• ability to focus on selected information in the environment (driving)

Question 9

What is divided attention

Answer 9

• ability to focus on multiple tasks at once

Question 10

What are the 2 memory types

Answer 10

declarative memory (explicit)
- conscious recollection of facts and events

non-declarative memory (implicit)
- remembering outside a persons awareness (familiar song, riding a bike)

Question 11

Normal age-related neurocognitive changes

Answer 11

visuospatial abilities
- understand space in 2&3 dimensions

construction abilities
- ability to put parts to make a coherent whole

Question 12

8 executive functioning for cognitive abilities…

Answer 12

• planning
• organise
• reason
• make decisions
• problem solve
  -abstract thinking
• mental flexibility
• self-monitor

Question 13

What is stale while aging

Answer 13

• notice similarities
• describe abstract meaning of proverbs

Question 14

What declines with ageing

Answer 14

• Concept thinking
• abstract thinking
• mental flexibility
• having a speedy motor response

Question 15

What is dementia

Answer 15

• a group of signs and symptoms
• impacts cognitive function

Question 16

What are the 3 Ds

Answer 16

Dementia
Delirium
Depression

Question 17

Types of dementia

Answer 17

Alzheimer’s Disease
- progressive
- cortical shrinkage in brain
- enlarged ventricles in brain
- shrinkage of hippocampus

Vascular Dementia
- problems with blood circulation to the brain
- step-wise disease progression

Lewy Body Disease
- development of lewy bodies in the brain
- causes cognitive change with visual hallucinations
- parkinsonism - stiffness, slowness, tremor

Frontal Temporal lobe dementia
- Affects language, judgement and empathy

Question 18

Early stage signs and symptoms of Dementia

Answer 18

• forgetfulness
• losing track of time
• becoming lost in familiar places

Question 19

Middle stage signs and symptoms of Dementia

Answer 19

• forgetting recent events and peoples names
• becoming confused at home
• communication difficulties
• experiencing behaviour changes (wandering)

Question 20

Late stage signs and symptoms of Dementia

Answer 20

• becoming unaware of time and place
• difficulty recognising familiar people
• needing assisted self-care
• difficulty walking
• potential escalating behaviour changes

Question 21

What is delirium

Answer 21

• Acute decline in cognitive function
• fluctuating mental state

Question 22

Delirium - predisposing factors

Answer 22

sensory impairment
depression
existing cognitive impairment

Question 23

delirium - precipitating factors

Answer 23

infection
surgery
medication

Question 24

People who are most likely to develop delirium

Answer 24

older people
existing dementia
illness/surgery
infection
dehydration
medications

Question 25

Delirium types

Answer 25

Hypoactive
- lethargic, drowsy, lacking facial expressions

Hyperactive
- fast/loud speech, aggressive behaviours, hallucinations and delusions

Mixed
- fluctuating between the two

Normal psychomotor
- alter cognition with normal levels of activity

Question 26

Symptoms of delirium

Answer 26

inattention
disorganised thinking
altered level of consciousness

Question 27

DEMENTIA
onset, course, duration, consciousness, attention, psychomotor changes, reversible

Answer 27

years

progressive

months-years

usually clear

normal

often normal

irreversible

Question 28

DELIRIUM
onset, course, duration, consciousness, attention, psychomotor changes, reversible

Answer 28

acute: hours-days

fluctuating

days-weeks

altered

impaired

increase or decreased

usually

Question 29

DEPRESION
onset, course, duration, consciousness, attention, psychomotor changes, reversible

Answer 29

either: weeks-months

chronic

months-years

clear

may be decreased

may be slowed in severe cases

usually

Question 30

Dementia - mini mental state 6 areas

Answer 30

1. orientation to time and place
2. attention/concentration
3. short-term memory
4. language skills
5. visuospatial abilities
6. understand and follow instructions