PSYC 3170 Chapter Notes - Chapter 13: Cognitive Restructuring, Problem Solving, Family Therapy
20 Sep 2017
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Document Summary
Dementia: progressive loss of cognitive functions that often occurs in old age. Alzheimer"s disease: brain disorder characterized by a deterioration of attention, memory, and personality. The cognitive functions of people do not disappear all at once, the first ones to go are attention and memory. The first memory losses are generally for recent events and new learning, and later progresses to include distant events and information that had been well learns. A promising answer seems to involve a characteritic that differentiates the brains of alzheimer patients from those of other elderly individuals. Brains contain extensive lesions, consisting of gnarled and tangled nerve and protein fibres. Evidence indicates that genetic defects may cause these large deposits to occur. Characteristics that increase the risk of developing alzheimer"s: low education, prior strokes, no alcohol use, sedentary lifestyle, high body weight, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Patients behaviour become increasingly problematic as the disease progresses.
