Case Study Normal Cognitive Ageing

Alzheimer’s disease is seen as deterioration in intellectual abilities as a result of degeneration within several regions of the

As we age, our brain and nervous system go through natural changes. An aging adult may experience memory loss, decreased touch sensation, change in the perception of pain, change in sleep pattern, decreased coordination and increased risk for infection (Ignatavicius, 2013, p. 912) .

There are people who think that older adults are not capable of learning new information because of the number of neurons in their brain decline as they age. In the PBS video “Stealing Time”, the old cage potato rats were given a change of scene with an enriched environment and the results were that their dendrites grew and made new synaptic connections where there were none before. These rats were better on future tasks than the old rats that were not given a change of scene. When older adults are doing a task in a laboratory setting they are less efficient at processing the information presented to them and their reaction time is slower. “Older adults show more brain activity between the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe than

From birth, the body and mind go through physical and cognitive changes that human beings will have to adapt to throughout life. Some individuals lose mental and physical abilities age they age that allow them to live a normal lifestyle. The most common age-related physical changes include hearing impairment, weakening vision, and the increasing probability of multiple chronic conditions such as arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and osteoporosis (Abeles, 1998). The most common cognitive changes associated with normal aging are short-term, or primary, memory loss, long-term, or secondary, memory loss, and the overall levels of performance in sustained attention. Other issues relative to aging and cognitive memory impairments are anxiety disorder, panic disorder, chronic pain, and mood disorders. This issue may cause several social, medical and family problems as individual

Cognitive aging is the term to describe changes in cognition with age. While Salthouse (2004) found that with cognitive aging comes cognitive decline regardless of the individual, Hayden and partners (2011) found that most (65%) elderly persons showed slow decline that does not substantially affect abilities, 27% experienced moderate decline, and only 8% showed substantial cognitive decline. These new findings show that in fact there may be individual variability when it comes to cognitive aging. One factor shown to affect cognitive aging is race (Glymour and Manly, 2008). Thus, in this paper we will review and analyze findings pertaining to cognitive aging as related by race to better understand this relationship and will also discuss suggestions for future research.

This paper reviews the use of cognitive rehabilitation treatment of early stage of dementia Alzheimer’s type. The case study examines a 72 year old male patient diagnosed with early stage dementia of Alzheimer’s Type. This study used visual imagery, as well as cues and expanding rehearsal during the cognitive rehabilitation. The evaluation of cognitive rehabilitation treatment included the psychological, physiological, neurological assessments and self-reports. Results

Quadagno (2014) discusses ways cognitive abilities differ from young-adults, middle-old adults and oldest old adults. Cognitive decline can also be affected by conditions such as stroke, depression, diabetes, auditory, and vision problems. Older adults may also encounter age related cognitive decline in their daily lives. Cognitive abilities such as processing speed, episodic memory, working memory and dual task processing are abilities that researchers are aiming to improve in older adults (Basak, et al, 2008; Quadagno, 2014).

Alzheimer’s is a degenerate disease of the brain. There are an estimated four million Americans that live with Alzheimer’s, it is believed that the disease accounts anywhere from 50 to 70 percent of all cases of dementia (UCSF medical center). The vast amount of cases leads me to believe that we would not need to look very far to find either a friend or family member distant or close that has had a personal or familial experience with this disease.

Thus, such communities will require the appropriate conditions to handle the needs of the aging. In terms of physical environment, this includes such features as safety, open spaces to promote walking, and age-appropriate leisure activities Seniors in rural communities identified the need of “walkable” sidewalks or accessible buildings as it not only supported older people in the form of physical exercise but also easier commute to attend social or personal needs (Public Health Canada, 2009). In a Study by Bascu et al, in 2012 about 40 percent of seniors experienced fall and related functional limitation. The study revealed that seniors’ safety and security concerns tend to relate more to a poor physical environment which adds to the number of accidents, including falls and complications. Seasonal conditions such as icy, wet pathways that hinder mobility increase fall and isolation. Creating a safe physical environment enables seniors to live independently and recreate personal identity in the face of the challenges of aging (Keating, Swindle & Fletcher, 2011). It may, however, be challenging to create this environment. An underlying issue is that funding is needed to ensure the availability of the resources

Aging is often associated with gradual cognitive decline which can significantly affect an individual’s quality of life. In Australia, 110, 000 people identified as suffering from dementia (ABS, 2012). A relatively new intervention that aims to combat this cognitive decline, involves the use of computerised brain training programs. Many studies have shown that cognitive training can improve cognitive function in older adults (Peretz, et al., 2011, p. 91). Having said that, there here have been mixed results regarding the effectiveness of improving overall cognitive function using computerised methods. There is evidence to suggest slight improvements in some areas of cognitive function. However, there has not been enough conclusive results

Aging is a natural process of life however, studies show that there are some age-related decline in cognitive development. As a person grows older some brain cell dies, shrink, or weaken and cause some decline in brain functions. Some cognitive processes include attention, working memory, long-term memory, perception, and executive control. The material will explain the effect of aging on cognitive development by providing scholarly research proof.

She suggest that funding needs to be increase to accommodate the elderly and disabled (Linda, 2014). The second Article called the “Transportation Barriers” Author Cronk informs about the struggles and frustration the elderly and people with disabilities face due to the lack of transportation services available to them. Furthermore, the author tells the story of an elderly man who was taken to the hospital by ambulance. But, on the day of his release from the hospital he had no family nearby and had no way to get home nor had money to pay for a taxi. The hospital was unable to assist him financially to pay for a cab, frustrated the elderly patient told his nurse he would walk eight miles to his home. Cronk informs that in populated communities although many people live near doctors and hospitals they continue to face the issue of poor transportation due to financial struggles. The author states that for those who are disabled riding public transportation becomes a great challenge. In addition to missing important preventive care appointments because they have no reliable access to transportation. Cronk states that the problems were worst among minorities, stating that a high percentage of disabled and elderly patients have missed appointments due to not having accessible transportation. Cronk continues to inform that many times they just wait for medical emergencies to visit a doctor. To

There are also cognitive changes during middle adulthood. There is a mixed pattern of positive and negative changes in cognitive abilities. Processing speed starts to decrease during this time period however crystallized thought does not decline until older age (pg. 456). Working memory begins to decline however semantic memory continues to increase as we learning throughout our older years (ph 456). Usually most memory decline is during older age and can be attributed to Alzheimer’s disease of dementia.

Cognitive aging is commonly labeled strictly as memory and only found in “some people”. However, this is not true. The knowledge of cognitive aging has grown immensely, but there is still much to be learned. The surface has only been scratched with many more questions to be answered. Cognitive aging is worthy of study and effects everyone, but there is also much more is still to be learned.

As age increases, we can expect some loss of heart, lung, joint, and sexual functioning. Some loss of brain cells and mental efficiency is a normal part of