How Can Alzheimer's Affect A Memory?

In times past many people thought that memory loss was a normal occurrence for elderly people. This thinking was major reason for why Alzheimer’s disease was not caught until very later in the stages. Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging. After heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of death in adults in the Western world. “It is estimated that 4.5 million Americans over the age of 65 are affected with this condition. After the age of 65, the incidence of the disease doubles every five years and, by age 85, it will affect nearly half of the population” (Robinson).

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurological disorder, in which one progressively loses memory, thinking skills, and the ability to perform activities of daily living. Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia also called senile dementia, and two thirds of dementia cases are from Alzheimer’s disease (ZZZZ). This disease usually effects the older generation, early 60s to late 60’s. According to the National Institute of Aging, over 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and it is ranked the sixth leading cause of death (ZZZZ). This disease is caused by changes in the brain. Researchers noted these changes were a buildup of abnormal plaques called, amyloid plaques, a lost connection between nerve cells and the brain, and also fibers in the brain become tangled. Also this is a genetic disease, and environmental factors also play a role in the onset of this disease. These characteristics are said to cause the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (ZZZ). Alzheimer’s disease has many onset symptoms. The most common symptoms of this disease are memory loss and confusion. Examples of this is asking the same question and not realizing it, and not remembering where things are. These symptoms progressively worsen to the person forgetting who their family members are, and eventually not being able to function on their own.

This report provides detailed information regarding the Alzheimer’s disease, and how it affects the individual as a person. It examines the facts and statistics of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as cover the survival rate. It covers the cognitive impacts that Alzheimer’s has on the individual, and also the emotional profiles of each of its victims. Gives a general concept of how Alzheimer’s disease has evolved over the past years, and it also shares the advances that it has made. It addresses the role of the public health and aging services, and how it affects the person. It goes into detail on how the brain is affected by this disease, and the impact it can cause for the individual. Overall, it stresses the importance of being aware of the Alzheimer’s diseases because it allows for there to be support, encouragement, and hope for the victims. Just having someone there can make all the difference to someone suffering.

Last year my maternal Aunt Kate passed away. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) about eight years earlier. My maternal grandmother also had been diagnosed with AD before her death. Later this month I will accompany my 77-year-old mother to her neurologist appointment. While she has not been diagnosed with AD, she has been prescribed Donepezil (Aricept), one of the newer drugs that are thought to reduce the decline in memory in patients that have or might be developing dementia. Opportunities to learn more about AD and the effects on the brain are welcome. The Alzheimer’s Association website, ALZ.org, is filled with a wealth of this information. Especially interesting was Inside the Brain: An Interactive Tour. I

Explicit memory is memory without conscious recollection-memory of skills and routine. Procedures that are preformed automatically (Santrock 219). Explicit memory helps with things like waking up, getting out of bed and putting on your slippers so your feet don’t feel the cold of the floor. Walking out of your room on the second floor and being able to walk down the hallway and to the left to reach the stairs and making it safely down to the first floor without having to turn the lights on. You know your house “like the palm of your hand” because you

Memory is a set of cognitive processes that allow us to remember past information (retrospective memory) and future obligations (prospective memory) so we can navigate our lives. The strength of our memory can be influenced by the connections we make through different cognitive faculties as well as by the amount of time we spend devoting to learning specific material across different points in time. New memories are created every time we remember specific event, which results in retrospective memories changing over time. Memory recall can be affected retrospectively such as seeing increased recall in the presence of contextual cues or false recall of information following leading questions. Memory also includes the process

Alzheimer’s disease is the progressive loss of memory and mental functions. The disease affects memory, thought control, language, and other cognitive functions. The disease typically appears with old age and is often found age 60. Alzheimer’s causes the brain to develop clumps and tangles fibers in the brain tissue along with the loss of neuron connections. Throughout the brain, proteins are abnormally distributed and they form tangled bundles of fibers and amyloid plaques. Some neurons fail to function properly and lose their connections, which are necessary for the transmission of messages to the body. The hippocampus is the key brain structure in the formation of memories and often experiences the first signs of damage.

According to data available from the Alzheimer’s foundation every 67 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s disease and currently at least 5.3 million people are affected by the disease. The numbers are expected to grow as 75 million baby boomers transition into retirement by 2030. Alzheimer disease is a brain disorder that causes decay and dis- function of neurons resulting in memory loss, speech and language impairment. This can also extend to challenges in physical and social behavioural. The brain, consisting of the cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem is the primary target of Alzheimer’s disease. At three pounds the brain has a network of arteries and a folded cortex that is responsible for memory and movement. These functions are facilitated by a network of neurons. Alzheimer’s disease interferes with these neurons by disrupting electrical transfer; Death of brain cells is inevitable as the cortex shrinks becoming incapable of developing thoughts and memory. The Alzheimer’s patient experiences an altered personality with family members becoming strangers.

Imagine living a wonderful life, yet once someone reaches their golden years, they cannot remember their past. That is the reality of living with Alzheimer’s disease. This disease is commonly found in the elderly. This explains why people assume older people have a bad memory. Alzheimer’s does not occur in a short period of time, it typically takes months to develop. It involves gradual memory loss due to two specific protein fragments that spread to different parts of the brain killing brain cells as they go. As mentioned in the article Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet (2015), Dr. Alois Alzheimer first discovered the disease by noticing something different in a woman’s brain after her death in 1906. Before her death, the woman was reported to have damaged thought processes, vocal trouble, and odd actions, so Dr. Alois decided to examine her brain where he discovered some unusual clusters of plaques and tangles (Alzheimer’s Disease Fact Sheet, 2015). The plaques and tangles initiate in the brain where memories are first formed. Over the years these two protein fragments slowly sabotage the hippocampus making memories harder to remember and develop. People who do not have the disease usually take simple memories from a few days ago for granted. On the other hand, simple memories vanish with patients who have Alzheimer’s. Some of the main characteristics of Alzheimer’s are the plaques and tangles in the brain that not only kill brain cells, but are the reason for failure of

Memory is defined as “the mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information” (American Psychological Association, 2002). It is a part of the means by which humans function. The process of forming and recalling memories involves various complex neurological processes and disruptions to these processes can result in loss of memory or the inability to form new memories. Amnesia is a memory disorder, in which, due to trauma or a head injury, certain parts of the memory is inaccessible. The two main types of amnesia are anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia. Anterograde amnesia refers to the inability to create new memories (Mastin, 2010). “Retrograde

The brain is very complex and allows us to do different things. The part of the brain known as the

Many are mistaken and believe that a person with Alzheimer’s cannot remember anything. Instead it is a declining memory that is typically shown primarily in the loss of short term memories. Short term memories can be measured in minutes or days, for example remembering a meal you had recently or what movie you watched during the day. Strangely, Alzheimer’s Disease doesn’t affect the part of your brain that stores long-term memories, meaning one may remember the address of the first house they lived in when they were five years old, but not the address of their current

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that steadily destroys the memory and other important mental functions such as social skills, intellect, and memory (4).

If you have Alzheimer's disease the cortex in your brain shrivels up. It damages the area in your brain that involved thinking and remembering. Then it forms tangles, it changes the brain structure, that causes the brain cell to die. Which leads to memory loss. The tangles could prevent the production of some important brain chemicals. Alzheimer’s disease shrinks the size of your brain.

Alzheimer 's disease is a cognitively degenerative disease with irreversible side effects. The disease was first discovered in 1901 by the late German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer while he was working with a fifty year old patient by the name of Auguste D. Since the disease 's discovery, scientists, psychiatrist, and many other medical professionals have worked diligently to learn more about the disease 's effects and potential treatments to hinder its rapid progression.