Cognitive Development : Cognitive Change

As people get old a few of them will experience changes in cognition with age related capacity rather than intellectual capacity. There are some people who get both disparities of mentally and physically impaired that will led into depression due to aging process of their body. Even though, the forgetfulness is a common among older adults, we as healthcare providers must evaluate altered mental status of the patients. “The evaluation and management of altered mental status are broad and require careful history and physical examination to eliminate life-threatening situations”(Patti & Dulebohn, 2017). Therefore, it is very important to recognize the importance of difference between normal age-related symptoms and developing new health problems that can arise in this specific population. As elders get older their memory lapses it frustrating to them leading them to be more worried about changes in their memory. Nurses have a unique capability to promote a cognitive health and determine the possibilities of potential cases of the impairment in elders. The movie “On Golden Pond” Mr. Norman was a perfect example and showed that his symptoms were interfering with his everyday live when he almost burns down the house with fire, calling Bill by his daughter’s name Chelsea and getting lost in on the lake. Even though, Mr. Norman had heart and dementia problems his wife never discouraged him to do what he liked such as

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

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).

A topic I learned more of this semester in regards to the older population was dementia. Some loss in memory function is an inevitable consequence of aging, and as one ages, it takes more time to process information and retrieve memories. However, "Dementia is a general term that refers to progressive, degenerative brain dysfunction, including deterioration in memory, concentration, language skills, visuospatial skills, and reasoning, that interferes with a person's daily functioning" (Mauk, 2014, p. 377). This loss of mental skills affects the ability to function over time, causing problems with memory and how one thinks, impacting these individual's overall quality of life.

Dementia is a disease that has been characterized as a deficiency of permanent memory which leads to a decrease in recent memory that can interfere with the ability to engage in professional and social activities (Hamdy, Hamdy, Hudgins, & Piotrowski, 2014). Even recent studies have shown that dementia is not a part of the normal aging process, it has become a very serious and common condition among the older population. An estimated 35.6 million people, with 7.7 million cases diagnosed each year are affected with dementia according to the World Health Organization (WHO) (Hamdy, Hamdy, Hudgins, & Piotrowski, 2014).

As the Baby Boomer era has now grown up, there is subsequently a large increase in the number of elderlies in the United States. One of the largest generations reaching elderly status also brings an increase in curiosity on their health; particularly their mental health. With nearly 69% of practicing psychologist working with older patients, it is clear that there is a particular interest in how the elderly behave and think (Kring & Johnson, 2015). This curiosity and prevalence of elderlies brings along an increase awareness of commonly thought “elderly specific” illnesses and disorders. One major area that is often associated with the elderly is memory loss, more appropriately labeled as Dementia. However, not all areas of Dementia are reserved for the elderly.

As we age, it is natural for cognitive deterioration, however if this deterioration significantly impairs one’s independence, a diagnosis of major neurocognitive disorder is given There are currently 24 to 36 million people with neurocognitive disorders around the world, with 4.6 million new cases emerging each year (Hollingworth, P., Harold, D., Jones, L., Owen, M. J., & Williams, J. (2011); Ames, D., Chiu, E., Lindsesay, J., & Shulman, K. I., 2010). Those suffering with a neurocognitive disorder experience a significant decline in facets of cognitive function such as: memory and learning, attention, perceptual motor skills, planning and decision making, language ability, or social cognition (APA, 2013, 2012). Alzheimer’s disease is the most

Cognitive psychology is the study of the mind and how people think. It includes the examination of attention span, memory, and reasoning, along with other complex mental processes of the brain. Thomas DeBaggio focuses on the effect Alzheimer's has on his cognition, and how it is altering his ability to function in daily life. He describes memory as being “a mental stabilizer and without it the mind becomes chaotic and unstructured” (33). It is clear through the author’s inclusion of this perspective that the disease has a significant on not only his memories, but his perspective of life as well.

Over the centuries, the term dementia has evolved from one that described any change in intellect or judgement in the elderly, to a collection of cognitive and behavioral symptoms correlated with specific neuropathology. The aging process is thought to have three possible cognitive outcomes: (1) normal age related decline, which is often described as normal and healthy aging; (2) age associated memory impairment, which is not as severe and does not have all of the features of dementia; (3) dementia, for which there are many types (Christensen & O’Brien, 2000).

Also in participating in various cognitive activities, the individual has better organizational and coordination skills (Carlson et al., 2012, p. 292). Also it suggests that the previous suggested manner to delay the progression of memory loss or dementia although it may help is not the most effective and is outdated. Some weaknesses are that it focuses on only 1 gender, what may be effective for women may not be as effective in men. Also the study only focuses on the healthy and high functioning women therefore, it does not represent the opposite population. In terms of women responding to questionnaires, leaves room for false information to be

Once an individual has reached a certain age everything begins to change cognitively. For example, the memory is not as proficient, language comprehension skills decline, and regular life function is hard. It is hard for people in late adulthood to maintain regular function as they once had before. According to Berk, “In late adulthood, personal goals ---while still including gains --- increasingly focus on maintaining abilities and preventing losses” (Berk, 2017, p. 595). Older adults often tend to think something happened when in reality it did not. Their memory cannot contain as much information as before making it possible for older adults to imagine things happening. They also struggle with their vocabulary. It is hard for them to find

Cognitive aging is worthy of study for many reasons. The more knowledge that is uncovered about cognitive aging, the closer to possibly finding ways to slow the process down, decrease the intensity of the symptoms, or maybe prevent it all together. If there are possible ways of doing so it is important to find them. The “what” and “when” of cognitive aging has made advances, but the “why”, “where”, and “how” are still to be uncovered. We further our knowledge of the “why”, “where”, or “how”, or uncover the full truth, without knowing the full truth about the “what” and “when”. Finding out more about one might lead to learning more about another. Expanding our knowledge on cognitive aging has the potential to increase someone’s quality of life. It has the potential to increase that family member’s quality of life. Cognitive aging effects more than the victim, it effects their

The relationship between higher education and cognitive growth is one that must be explored. There is plenty of evidence which supports that thesis that higher education leads to positive cognitive growth. It has been proven that higher educated individuals tend to secure better jobs, which often time leads to them earning higher salaries than those who elect not to go to college. Another affect of higher education on people is simply that the individuals that seek more knowledge tends better educated and often times seek more knowledge further down the line. It has also been found that college often correlates to people living a healthier life than their

Another area of development that occurs in older adulthood is cognitive. Cognitive changes that occur include the speed in which they process information. The decrease in speed occurs because the functioning of the brain and central nervous system is declining. In older adulthood, this speed decreases but there is a variation in the degree. The speed variation advantages depend on the individual accumulated knowledge. (543) While interacting with the residents I noticed this decline. When I talked to the residents I noticed that it took them a while and multiple repetitions, I am not sure if it was because of this speed decline. There can be another underlying factor in this experience. I might have interacted with some residents who were not

There are many different things that shape the cognitive development of children. To begin with cognitive development is when a child develops how to process, solve problems, and start making decisions. Once they have learned this they take everything they have learned into their adolescence. An example, of what can shape the cognitive development of a child can be an educational game. Educational games can be very useful in shaping a child’s development because they are having fun while learning at the same time and what kid doesn’t like to play games, the fact that it is even educational makes it even better for them. Not only are they having fun but there are many different games that help in different categories of development in