Autobiographical Memory, Imagined Futures, Alzheimers Disease & Aphantasia

Autobiographical events

personally lived experiences

possible imagined futures

hypothetical experiences and situations that an individual has the ability to create and conceptualise in their mind

neurodegenerative diseases

diseases characterised by the progressive loss of neurons in the brain

Alzheimers disease

a neurodegenerative disease that involves the progressive loss of neurons in the brain and is characterised by memory decline

(primarily impacts neurons of hippocampus, but also cortex)

Beta-amyloid plaques

fragments of the protein beta-amyloid that accumulate into insoluble plaques that inhibit communication between neurons

neurofibrillary tangles

an accumulation of the protein tau that forms insoluble tangles withing neurons, which then inhibit the transportation of essential substances and eventually kill the neuron

aphantasia

a phenomenon in which individuals lack the capacity to generate mental imagery

mental imagery

the visual representations and experiences of sensory information without the presence of sensory stimuli

vividness

the darity, brightness or intensity of an image as reported by the individual

Symptoms of alzheimers (5)

• decrease in cognitive functions

• personality change

• changes in mood and emotion

• frequently becoming confused or disoriented

• difficulty with language and communication

post-mortem examination

an assessment of a dead body that occurs to determine the cause of death

lesion

an area of tissue that has been damaged due to disease or injury