Dementia manifests as a set of related symptoms,which usually surface when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments to memory,thinking,and behavior,which negatively impact a person's ability to function and carry out everyday activities. Aside from memory impairment and a disruption in thought patterns,the most common symptoms include emotional problems,difficulties with language,and decreased motivation. The symptoms may be described as occurring in a continuum over several stages. Dementia is not a disorder of consciousness,as that is not usually affected. It ultimately has a significant effect on the individual,caregivers,and relationships in general.
Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain,typically a series of minor strokes,leading to worsening cognitive abilities,the decline occurring step by step. The term refers to a syndrome consisting of a complex interaction of cerebrovascular disease and risk factors that lead to changes in brain structures due to strokes and lesions,resulting in changes in cognition. The temporal relationship between a stroke and cognitive deficits is needed to make the diagnosis.
Binswanger's disease,also known as subcortical leukoencephalopathy and subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy (SAE),is a form of small vessel vascular dementia caused by damage to the white brain matter. White matter atrophy can be caused by many circumstances including chronic hypertension as well as old age. This disease is characterized by loss of memory and intellectual function and by changes in mood. These changes encompass what are known as executive functions of the brain. It usually presents between 54 and 66 years of age,and the first symptoms are usually mental deterioration or stroke.
Neurocognitive functions are cognitive functions closely linked to the function of particular areas,neural pathways,or cortical networks in the brain,ultimately served by the substrate of the brain's neurological matrix. Therefore,their understanding is closely linked to the practice of neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience,two disciplines that broadly seek to understand how the structure and function of the brain relate to cognition and behaviour.
Neuropsychological tests are specifically designed tasks that are used to measure a psychological function known to be linked to a particular brain structure or pathway. Tests are used for research into brain function and in a clinical setting for the diagnosis of deficits. They usually involve the systematic administration of clearly defined procedures in a formal environment. Neuropsychological tests are typically administered to a single person working with an examiner in a quiet office environment,free from distractions. As such,it can be argued that neuropsychological tests at times offer an estimate of a person's peak level of cognitive performance. Neuropsychological tests are a core component of the process of conducting neuropsychological assessment,along with personal,interpersonal and contextual factors.
Clinical neuropsychology is a sub-field of psychology concerned with the applied science of brain-behaviour relationships. Clinical neuropsychologists use this knowledge in the assessment,diagnosis,treatment,and or rehabilitation of patients across the lifespan with neurological,medical,neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions,as well as other cognitive and learning disorders. The branch of neuropsychology associated with children and young people is pediatric neuropsychology.
Cognitive reserve is the mind's resistance to damage of the brain. The mind's resilience is evaluated behaviorally,whereas the neuropathological damage is evaluated histologically,although damage may be estimated using blood-based markers and imaging methods. There are two models that can be used when exploring the concept of "reserve":brain reserve and cognitive reserve. These terms,albeit often used interchangeably in the literature,provide a useful way of discussing the models. Using a computer analogy brain reserve can be seen as hardware and cognitive reserve as software. All these factors are currently believed to contribute to global reserve. Cognitive reserve is commonly used to refer to both brain and cognitive reserves in the literature.
Edith F. Kaplan was an American psychologist. She was a pioneer of neuropsychological tests and did most of her work at the Boston VA Hospital. Kaplan is known for her promotion of clinical neuropsychology as a specialty area in psychology. She examined brain-behavioral relationships in aphasia,apraxia,developmental issues in clinical neuropsychology,as well as normal and abnormal aging. Kaplan helped develop a new method of assessing brain function with neuropsychological assessment,called "The Boston Process Approach."
Kenneth M. Heilman is an American behavioral neurologist He is considered one of the fathers of modern-day behavioral neurology.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a neurocognitive disorder which involves cognitive impairments beyond those expected based on an individual's age and education but which are not significant enough to interfere with instrumental activities of daily living. MCI may occur as a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia,especially Alzheimer's disease. It includes both memory and non-memory impairments. The cause of the disorder remains unclear,as well as its prevention and treatment.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances,symptoms can include problems with language,disorientation,mood swings,loss of motivation,self-neglect,and behavioral issues. As a person's condition declines,they often withdraw from family and society. Gradually,bodily functions are lost,ultimately leading to death. Although the speed of progression can vary,the typical life expectancy following diagnosis is three to nine years.
Igor Grant is an American psychiatrist. He is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of California,San Diego. He is Director of the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP) and the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR). Grant is the founding Editor of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society and founding co-editor of the journal AIDS and Behavior. His work focuses on effects of HIV and drug use,particularly alcohol,medical marijuana,and methamphetamine.
Florbetaben,a fluorine-18 (18F)-labeled stilbene derivative,trade name NeuraCeq,is a diagnostic radiotracer developed for routine clinical application to visualize β-amyloid plaques in the brain. It is indicated for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging of β-amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brains of adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive impairment. β-amyloid is a key neuropathological hallmark of AD,so markers of β-amyloid plaque accumulation in the brain are useful in distinguishing AD from other causes of dementia. The tracer successfully completed a global multicenter phase 0–III development program and obtained approval in Europe,US and South Korea in 2014.
Philip Scheltens is a Dutch professor of neurology and Director of the Alzheimer Centre,VU University Medical Center Amsterdam.
Czech Brain Ageing Study (CBAS) is a longitudinal,observational study on aging and dementia from two large centers in the Czech Republic combining clinical care and clinical research.
Pasquale Calabrese born 27 February 1961 in Naples,Italy,is an Italian professor of clinical neurosciences at the University of Basel,Faculty of Psychology,Department of Molecular and Cognitive Neurosciences. He is a neuroscientist,experimental neurologist and medical neuropsychologist.
Yaakov Stern is an American cognitive neuroscientist,professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University.
Robert A. Stern is professor of Neurology,Neurosurgery,and Anatomy &Neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine,where he is also director of clinical research for the BU Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Center. From 2010 to 2019,he was the director of the Clinical Core of the BU Alzheimer's Disease Center.
Nicole Schupf is an American epidemiologist and neuroscientist who is Professor of Epidemiology in Neurology,Psychiatry,the Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center,and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain,Columbia University Faculty of Medicine. She studies aging and Alzheimer's disease in individuals with Down syndrome.
Makarena Diana Dudley,also known as Margaret Dudley,is a New Zealand clinical psychologist,neuropsychologist and academic,specialising in neuropsychology,dementia and Māori health psychology research. She is currently one of the co-directors of the clinical psychology programme at the University of Auckland. In 2016,Dudley became the first permanent Māori clinical psychology lecturer employed at the University of Auckland. Dudley's iwi include Te Rarawa,Te Aupōuri and Ngāti Kahu.
