Aging Is Often Associated With Gradual Cognitive Decline

Are nursing homes associated with the acceleration of cognitive decline? The relevance of this question is that there are many families that are concerned about their loved one 's health when they are placed into a nursing home. First, what are some of the reasons for families to place their loved one’s into a nursing home? Second, what is Alzheimer’s and Dementia? Third, what are the reasons for the decline in most residents cognitive behaviors? Finally, how can we help change the acceleration of cognitive decline? Nursing homes are suppose to be helping the residents maintain their health as long as they can but are they really helping the residents? If nursing homes are better for the well being of the ill loved one, then why is the decline of cognitive behavior accelerating?

Age associated declines in cognitive processes are important to the understanding of the human mind. This study investigates the relationship between ageing and short term memory in particular, by first exploring current cognitive and neuroscientific research involving concepts such as short term/working memory, long term memory and ageing, and secondly, by means of a short term memory experiment involving verbal and numerical stimuli, that was administered to two age groups- 20 to 40 year old adults and 50 to 70 year olds. The results of the experiment were then analysed using the ANOVA statistical software programme. The results did not conclusively show age related decline

Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning which affects an individual’s daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that slowly destroys memory and thinking and the ability to perform simple tasks. There is some research that suggests cognitive training may slow the progression of dementia. Cognitive training challenges a variety of cognitive functions such as attention, memory and speed, which is different to general brain training that people may come across in their daily life (Kanaan et al., 2014). Various limitations

I first experienced a program similar to Brain Gym during a college education course several years ago. We learned about the benefits of “brain breaks”, practiced movements and breathing techniques. I remember feeling more relaxed and refocused. Brain Gym is a movement based program focusing on brain development and response.

The goal was to investigate the three different cognitive training areas: memory, reasoning and speed. The authors started with a baseline of participants of an average of “73.6 years old, had 13.5 years of schooling and 26% were African American.” After five years, they found that training effects with OTDI did not influence the subjects observed in the study and after the preliminary study they did a study on subjects with no diagnosis of dementia and no ADL limitations (bathing, dressing, and personal hygiene). After eliminating three of the 2,082 they worked with 2,799. The ODLT was measured by cognition and the response to verbal prompts every day and whether it led to better performance in the older

Main reason for cognition decline could be buildup of plaque and dysfunctional proteins in the brain interfering with neuronal function. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease that accounts for more than 60 % of all dementia cases. The disease is characterized by cognitive deficits and memory loss through a process that lead to the presence of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). This plaque is composed of abnormally hyperphosphorylated tau protein in the brain. Amyloid beta (Aβ or Abeta) is a peptide of 36–43 amino acids, forms amyloid plaques in the brain and are toxic to nerve cells. These peptides result from the amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is cleaved

Smith et al. (2013) took a less studied approach to improving cognitive decline by testing the effects of aerobic exercise on adults (60-88 years old) already suffering from cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks of moderate exercise there was an improvement of memory and neural efficiency across all subjects.

Neurological developmental gains are maintained with the initial training of cognitive training, however after the stimulation from training commences, then the brain can possibly go back to the state it was, before cognitive training (refrence). Cognitive stimulating task might have a negative notion which cause the individual to lose interest in perusing the task further, and primarily is up to the individual for takes the tasks, factors such as neuroplasticity, age and training period is take into account before the results are recorded. There are factors that need to be considered when cognitive training commences and if the new neural and cognitive formation is durable overtime of an individual’s life and if the onset of dementia is decrease. Studies that have been discussed are not followed up with future research to confirm that the subjects did not acquire dementia making a limiting factor. Its particularly important in understanding if the neurological changes and what they represent. At this time in the research advancement it becomes hesitant to say that cognitive training can improve the intellectual capacities of an individual over the course of time and twethere the new neural capacity are prement structures. Nevertheless there are sufficient evidence that suggests that there is improvement in cognitive tasks and rapid response rates with stimuli from cogitative training within the

Studies have indicated that exercise improves memory and cognition in older adults and we know nutrition at all stages of life has an important role. All of these ways to keep the brain healthy and even improve its health are, in a sense, external. What can the brain do to help itself? At what point in development should it start? This is not a question a parent thinks about for their child when contemplating their welfare. It is not something one thinks about as a child, adolescent, young adult or even mature or senior adult. There are more “important” things to consider than to try speculating on a future so far ahead as to whether a person is going to develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or dementia.

At the clinic, patients with Alzheimer’s Disease undergo a series of brain exercises that are used to stimulate the brain in the areas of memory and personality for two weeks at a time. After stimulating the parts of the brain that had previously deteriorated, some patients have begun to participate in activities or recall memories they had not been able to in a very long time. For example, some patients began to drive, bake, and remember their grandchildren’s name. The goal of this clinic is to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s so the patients can communicate and live a functioning life as long as possible. After partaking in the brain exercises, it is crucial for patients to continue to use their brain by thinking and talking about

Some brain exercises are designed to boost auditory processing that boosts your conversation skills, that includes pronunciation, listening and memory through auditory cues. Others are designed to process your visual processing capability - improving reaction time, memory through visual cues and range of sight.

There are also many studies that have shown that neurofeedback enhances cognitions in the topic areas of memory (Keizer, Verment & Hommel, 2010) and mental rotation tasks (Hanslamyr, Sauseng, Doppelmayr, Schabus & Klimesch, 2005). Finally there has also been a substantial amount of research into how neurofeedback can enhance the lives of suffers of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Lubar, Swartwood, Jeffrey & O’Donnell (1995) Therefore this essay will discuss how neurofeedback can enhance human performance however it will also include a critical evaluation of these methods.

Having a “Brain Healthy Lifestyle” (Bend, 2014) is made up of several different categories that include “physical health, brain fitness, and vitality” (Bend, 2014) as well as “balanced nutrition, stress management, and mental stimulation” (Sharpbrains, 2014). Our physical health plays a major part in brain function. Exercising our bodies, eating well, and getting the proper amount of sleep has a huge impact on our physical health. “Our brain requires 25% of the blood that is pumped by your heart. The healthier your heart is, the healthier your brain will be” (Bend, 2014). Cognitive fitness is demonstrated by uses of vocabulary, thinking, perception, and attention. It is crucial to make it a normal everyday practice to challenge our brains through new activities. Taking part in a cooking class or learning to

In recent years brain training games have become a topic of interest among both researchers and common people alike. Researchers are interested in the healing properties of brain training while normal people are looking to brain training as a way to improve their performance and get a leg up on the competition in school, work, and life. Up until recently, it was believed that the brain was unchangeable in terms of memory capacity. Researchers were well aware of the fact that the brain can change and form new connections when brain damage occurs. However, the idea that humans can train their brains to be more efficient and stronger seemed like a far-fetched cry from reality up until the late 1990’s (Weicker, Villringer & Thöne-Otto, 2016). As time went on and more research was conducted in the field of brain training, it became clear that brain training is not an exact science but, it does have real cognitive benefits.

Multiple studies have shown that if “brain games” are used daily one can improve their performance in few tasks.