Ch. 14 | Neurocognitive Disorders & Disorders Related to Aging

agnosia

a disturbance of sensory perception, usually affecting visual perception

Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

a progressive brain disease characterized by gradual loss of memory and intellectual functioning, personality changes, and eventual loss of ability to care for oneself

not a natural consequence of aging

amnesia

memory loss that frequently follows a traumatic event such as a blow to the head, an electric shock, or a major surgical operation

anterograde amnesia

loss or impairment of ability to form or store new memories

aphasia

impaired ability to understand or express speech

consequence of stroke or brain injury

ataxia

loss of muscle coordination

cerebrovascular accident (CVA)

a stroke or brain damage resulting from a rupture or blockage of a blood vessel supplying oxygen to the brain

delirium

a state of mental confusion, disorientation, and inability to focus attention

early-onset dementia

forms of dementia that begin before age 65

general paresis

a form of dementia resulting from neurosyphilis

Huntington’s disease

an inherited degenerative disease that is characterized by jerking and twisting movements, paranoia, and mental deterioration

hypoxia

decreased supply of oxygen to the brain or other organs

infarction

the development of an infarct—-or area of dead or dying tissue—resulting from the blocking of blood vessels that normally supply the tissue

Korsakoff’s syndrome

a syndrome associated with chronic alcoholism that is characterized by memory loss and disorientation

late-onset dementia

forms of dementia that begin after age 65

Lewy bodies

abnormal protein deposits in brain cells that cause a form of dementia

major neurocognitive disorder

profound deterioration of cognitive functioning, characterized by deficits in memory, thinking, judgment, and language use

formerly called dementia in earlier versions of the DSM

mild neurocognitive disorder

mild deterioration of cognitive functioning in which a person is able to perform tasks of daily living but needs to put in greater effort or compensate in other ways to maintain independent functionining

Parkinson’s disease

a progressive disease characterized by muscle tremors and shakiness, rigidity, difficulty walking, poor control of fine motor movements, lack of facial muscle tone, and, in some cases, cognitive impairment

Pick’s disease

a form of dementia, similar to Alzheimer’s disease, but distinguished by specific abnormalities (Pick’s bodies) in nerve cells and the absence of neurofibrillary tangles and plaques

retrograde amnesia

loss or impairment of ability to recall past events

vascular neurocognitive disorder

dementia resulting from repeated strokes that cause damage in the brain

Wernicke’s disease

a brain disorder, associated with chronic alcoholism, characterized by confusion, disorientation, and difficulty maintaining balance while walking

beta amyloid plaque

abnormal deposits of a protein called beta-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain

tau protein

acetylcholine

a neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that plays a crucial role in various bodily functions. 

raised by drugs like Aricept

traumatic brain injury (tbi)

an injury to the brain caused by an external physical force, such as a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating injury to the head. 

military service, football, hockey, headers (women’s soccer)

amnesia, language problems, depressions

can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)

a brain disorder likely caused by repeated head injuries

causes the death of nerve cells in the brain, known as degeneration

brain fog (COVID-19)

a persistent cognitive impairment experienced after contracting COVID-19 infection

amnestic disorders

disturbances of memory function as a consequence of a biological cause

anterograde

inability to acquire new memories

more common than retrograde

retrograde

loss of past memories

episodic memory

the ability to remember personal experiences, including when and where they happened (traditional memory)

most likely to be lost

procedural memory

the ability to perform tasks automatically, without consciously thinking about them.

causes (Amnestic disorders)

alzheimer’s disease

hypoxia

infarction

herpes simplex encephalitis

korsakoff’s syndrome

Clive Wearing

developed amnesia in 1985

developed profound anterograde and retrograde amnesia

global aphasia

person can produce little language and understand almost none

broca’s aphasia

impairment usually limited to production

wenicke’s apahsia

fluent but disorganized output

agnosia

inability to recognize and identify objects

prosopagnosia

face blindness