Cognition in Occupational Therapy

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to cognition in occupational therapy.

Cognition

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

An acute condition that can lead to cognitive decline due to damage to the brain.

Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy (CRT)

A therapy approach consisting of increasing awareness of deficits, retraining impaired skills, compensating for impairments, and generalizing learned skills.

Attention

The ability to focus mentally on particular information or tasks.

Executive Functions

Self-regulating and control functions that direct and organize cognition and behavior.

Memory

The faculty of the mind by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.

Dementia

A degenerative condition that leads to cognitive decline, affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities.

Generalization

The ability to apply skills learned in therapy to real-life situations outside of the therapy context.

Internal Strategies

Thought processes and behaviors used by individuals to improve recall.

External Strategies

Tools and methods external to the client that assist in improving cognitive function.

Phasic Alertness

A type of attention that refers to the ability to increase awareness or readiness to respond to stimuli.

Memory Impairment Strategies

Techniques used to assist individuals with severe memory impairments, such as errorless learning technique and chaining.

Maladaptive Behaviors

Behaviors that are counterproductive, potentially impairing social relationships and therapy outcomes.

Anosognosia

A lack of awareness of one’s own cognitive deficits.

Cognitive Deficits

Impairments in cognitive functions, often associated with various acute and degenerative conditions.

Cerebral Akinetopsia

A complex disorder involving vision and cognition, affecting the perception of movement.

Group Therapy

A therapeutic approach involving interaction with others facing similar challenges.

Support for Caregivers

Strategies to assist family members and caregivers in managing anxiety and supporting the client.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on specific stimuli while ignoring irrelevant background noise or distractions.

Divided Attention

The ability to respond simultaneously to multiple tasks or multitasking, such as listening to a lecture while taking notes.

Sustained Attention

The capacity to maintain focus and alertness over an extended period of time during a continuous activity.

Working Memory

A system for temporary storage and manipulation of information; for example, holding a sequence of numbers in mind while solving a problem where $n = 7 \pm 2$.

Metacognition

Knowledge and awareness of one's own cognitive processes, which allows for self-monitoring and regulation of performance.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life in response to learning, experience, or injury.

Errorless Learning

An instructional technique where the learner is guided to provide the correct response every time, preventing the encoding of errors.

Backward Chaining

A behavioral training procedure where the steps of a task are taught in reverse order, starting with the final step to ensure a sense of completion.