Dementia

Dementia is a neurocognitive disorder characterized by impaired cognitive processes of attention, memory, thinking, and decision making.

Dementia is caused by various diseases. One common disease is Alzheimer's disease. Other types of dementia include:

Vascular dementia

Lewy body dementia,

Fronto-temporal dementia

Mixed dementia

Dementia is most commonly observed in older adults but it is not a part of normal aging.

Assessment of Dementia

Clinical neuropsychologists evaluate a patient's cognitive abilities for impairments. In addition, clinical neuropsychologists assess adaptive functioning. That is, how well the person manages vocational, social, and other dimensions of life. Dementia affects people in different ways. Although memory and thinking processes are hallmarks of the dementias, changes in personality patterns and emotional functioning combine to interfere with personal and social functioning.

Physicians may perform medical tests and prescribe medication. Often, there are other medical conditions to consider as a part of the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options.

The data not only identify a patient's current status but the data also provides a baseline to measure future changes in cognitive and adaptive abilities. Although, in cases of an identifiable disease process, the future is usually a decline in functioning, some causes of dementia may be reversible. In addition, new medications may reduce the rate of decline.

Resources

CDC Centers of Disease Control and Prevention

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

See Geoffrey Sutton’s books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Follow on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

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Dr. Sutton’s posts are for educational purposes only. See a licensed mental health provider for diagnoses, treatment, and consultation.

Mental Reserve or Cognitive Reserve

 

Mental reserve is the capacity of brains to enable people to function adequately despite disease or damage to the brain.

Because brain damage often impairs memory important to solving problems, mental reserve, cognitive reserve, or brain reserve are terms used in conjunction with some memory studies.

The term cognitive reserve has been used since the 1980s when autopsies revealed signs of Alzheimer's disease in people who functioned adequately. It appeared they had sufficient mental or cognitive reserve capacity to compensate for the disease.

Studies that investigate cognitive reserve are generally addressing the Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis. The Cognitive Reserve Hypothesis states that intellectual enrichment produces cognitive efficiency, which results in Cognitive Reserve as a protection against expected disease-linked cognitive impairment.

Cognitive reserve is an inferred concept. That is, when people do better than expected following brain trauma or disease, clinicians infer that the better performance is due to cognitive reserve (Schwartz et al., 2016).

Carolyn Schwartz and her team (2016) suggest cognitive reserve should be a broader or multidimensional concept than the typical focus on cognitive skills. They include physical, socio-emotional, and spiritual components.

Brains affected by disease require extra effort to function as well as before the disease. Diseases that can affect the brain include Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and forms of dementia.

High levels of cognitive reserve are associated with people who have high levels of education and occupational status as well as high participation in nonwork activities. Cognitive activity is generally considered to be a helpful factor in high levels of cognitive reserve.

An extensive study conducted by Isobel Evans and her team (2018) explored the role of social activity and cognitive reserve. Following is part of their conclusion:

After controlling for age, gender, education, and physically limiting health conditions, social isolation was associated with cognitive function at baseline and two year follow-up. Cognitive reserve moderated this association longitudinally. Findings suggest that maintaining a socially active lifestyle in later life may enhance cognitive reserve and benefit cognitive function. (Abstract)

Scientists who study cognitive reserve include neuropsychologists, neurologists, neuroscientists and behavioral neurologists.

References

Evans, IEM, Llewellyn, DJ, Matthews FE, Woods, RT, Brayne, C, Clare, L, et al. (2018) Social isolation, cognitive reserve, and cognition in healthy older people. PLoS ONE 13(8): e0201008.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201008

Schwartz, C.E., Rapkin, B.D. & Healy, B.C. Reserve and Reserve-building activities research: key challenges and future directions. BMC Neurosci 17, 62 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12868-016-0297-0

Please check out my website   www.suttong.com

   and see my books on   AMAZON       or  GOOGLE STORE

Also, consider connecting with me on    FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton    

   TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton    

You can read many published articles at no charge:

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton     ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton