Taking a Closer Look at Alzheimers Disease Essay - 784 Words

What is Alzheimer’s disease? Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia known today. The term â€Å"dementia† refers to a variety of conditions that arise from the loss of nerve cell function and/or nerve cell death in the brain, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other types of mixed dementia. Although all types of dementia arise from neuronal damage and/or death, each form of dementia is associated with distinct brain abnormalities and symptom patterns. Once a patient has been diagnosed with dementia, a physician must conduct further tests in order to determine the exact form of dementia that is present. Recent research indicates that many individuals,†¦show more content†¦Thus, the preclinical stage of AD currently cannot be diagnosed (cite). Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease This stage of AD is characterized by measurable changes in the thinking abilities of the affected individual that are noticeable to the individual and those around them. These changes are mild and do not affect the individual’s ability to perform everyday tasks; however, approximately 50% of individuals who seek medical attention for their MCI symptoms will develop AD dementia in the next three to four years (cite). Dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease This stage of AD is characterized by memory, thinking and behavioral symptoms that dramatically impair an individual ability to function normally. These symptoms are caused by AD related brain changes and affect an individual’s ability to perform everyday tasks (cite). Alzheimer’s disease Symptoms As with most diseases, the symptoms caused by AD vary for person to person. A symptom seen in nearly every patient, however, is the gradually worsening ability to remember new information (cite). Other common symptoms of AD include the following: †¢ Challenges in planning and solving problems †¢ Difficulty completing familiar tasks at home, at work or at leisure †¢ Confusion with time or place †¢ Trouble understanding visual images and spatialShow MoreRelatedAlzheimer s Disease And Its Relationship With Personality1235 Words   |  5 Pages Alzheimer’s Disease and its Relationship with Personality By: Kristen Hughes The point of this literature review is to explore the relationship that Alzheimer’s disease has with one’s personality. There are many changes that happen to a person as they age, a lot of which are considered a normal part of aging. Being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease is not one of those changes that is considered normal (Hoyer Roodin, 2009). Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a form of dementia that is characterized byRead MoreImagine One Day You Wake Up And Suddenly You Don’T Know1420 Words   |  6 Pagesall. You look around and your brain is making no connections for you, everyone is a stranger. This is what happens to Alzheimer’s patients: they slowly begin to lose their memory. In the beginning, it’s little things with memory, but they don’t seem to have a huge effect on everyday life. Then, it moves on to greater memory loss, beginning to affect daily tasks, causing them to ask multiple questions and take longer to complete daily tasks. As they continue to progress through the disease, they loseRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease And Its Effects1257 Words   |  6 Pages Alzheimer’s in its Full Effect Alzheimer’s disease is named after German physician, Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes that happened in the brain tissue of Auguste D., who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behavior. So, what exactly is Alzheimer’s? It is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out the simplestRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease : A Common Form Of Dementia1311 Words   |  6 PagesAlzheimer’s disease is a common form of dementia that affects the brain (Bethune, 2010). It affects millions of Americans and is one of the leading cause of death in the United States (Bethune, 2010). There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, however there is ongoing research on reducing the risk and how to cure the disease (Bethune, 2010, Baumgart, M., Snyder, H. M., Carrillo, M. C., Fazio, S., Kim, H., Johns, H. (2015). Understanding the best way to manage the disease and how to care forRead MoreHow Alzheimer Is Like Mental Cancer Essay1227 Words   |  5 Pagesis hard to tell where personal aberrations end, and Alzheimer’s begins, but in the end one looks for anything untouched by the illness. One of the frightening things about Alzheimer’s is how the first signs of the disease make their appearance in the most benign and normal events. Things we might laugh at as silly mistakes are really signs of something much worse than we imagine. When Alzheimer’s occurs where there is no family history, people look back at events that were warning signs, and shakeRead MoreStem Cell Essay1310 Words   |  6 Pagesthought of the political history of undifferentiated organism look into. There has been a relentless pattern of researchers progressively taking in the privileged insights of stem cells and having the capacity to apply their new learning to either look into potential med ications or really convey powerful medicines to people. In 2001, Bush issued an official request that put huge limitations on government financing for undeveloped cell look into; and in 2009, Obama canceled this request with his veryRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease And Other Memory Disorders1101 Words   |  5 PagesKennedy Cooper Biotechnology 5th period What are scientists using to diagnose Alzheimer s Disease and other memory disorders early and why should they do so when there is still no cure for it?more Alzheimer s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. It is also the disease that took my grandfather. Since there is no cure and because of how late he was diagnosed, there was little the doctors could do for him. I personally noticed changes in my grandfatherRead MoreThe Importance Of Stem Cells1338 Words   |  6 Pagesbacteria and disease, and have the component of being unspecialized. This component of being unspecialized gives way for scientists and researchers to give stem cells a specific function to target and help repair tissues and systems. Such bacteria and disease stem cells may eradicate and prevent from plaguing people are Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease, spinal cord injuries, cancer, and much more. It has been studied that with the discovery of stem cells, there is almost no disease or bacteria thatRead MoreSymptoms Of Alzheimer s Disease2043 Words   |  9 Pagesfather had Alzheimer’s disease. It took an emotional toll on me and my family members. I believe Alzheimer is much harder on me and my loved ones than on my grandfather; because he was unaware of what was going on. It’s painful watching my grandfather degrade and get worse each and every day. The worst thing is that he doesn’t even know who I am anymore. In this paper I will discuss certain risk factors, background of Alzheimer’s, Background of Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s disease was firstRead MoreAlzheimers Disease3170 Words   |  13 PagesThe Role of Caregiving to Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease Megan Zann April 27, 2012 Health Psychology Dr. Ackerman Introduction It is normal to periodically forget your keys or a homework assignment, because you generally remember these things later. However, individuals who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease may forget things more often, but they do not remember them again. The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease has dramatically increased because people are living longer. This is a result of

Types of Gamers Essay - 831 Words

Video games have become one of the largest forms of entertainment within the last decade or two. People of all ages play these games to get out of the boring reality of things and experience the thrill of fantasy, combat, or adventure. But what kind of games gives you the experience you want? Some may want to control one person, a great being on a quest to restore his or her torn land, wielding great powers and becoming enveloped in a great story. Others may want to control a million persons, on a great battlefield, seizing land and bringing about destruction to all who come across his army. Or you may want to recreate your favorite sports team, leading them into the history books as the greatest team to ever step foot onto the field or†¦show more content†¦Games like this lately have begun exploring the internet, where not just one player, but thousands, can join up and fight each other or the lands creatures. Examples of these games include the Final Fantasy series and Eve rquest. Second is the action gamer. This person enjoys games that have him or her controlling a single person, usually in the first person view, and having them also accomplish their goal of saving one thing from the evil of another. These games usually involve missions for the player to partake in, and very beautiful environments for the player to explore, while slaying the many monsters that pursue him. These games are designed for someone who wants to get right into the action, and being slaughtering away. These games also have great storylines and pivotal climaxes like the role playing games, but generally these types of games are not as in depth about customization as is the role playing genre. Examples of these are the Half Life series and the ever popular Halo series. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Thirdly, the strategy gamer. This person enjoys the art of creating a large empire or controlling a massive army into uncharted lands, conquering and acquiring valuable resources in the process, up until there is nothing left to conquer for the player. These games involve the term resource management, where the player must start small, gathering as much as they can, then becoming more powerful as the game continues until the playerShow MoreRelatedHow Does Playing Games Affect the Mind? Essay1566 Words   |  7 Pagesjust want to do it because you love to free and to do things the way you want to do it! Well we have learned a lot so far about games, but let us think about this. There are two types of gamers, the casual players and the Hard Core Players. I definitely fall under hard core player. This is how you categorize it Hard Gamers are the people who stay up all night, forget about responsibilities and just immerse themselves in the game. They wait for the next game to come out and they just spend hours uponRead MoreIs Games Good Or Not For Human Development?1270 Words   |  6 Pagesgames in Turkey and since then, games has been developing rapidly (Attia 2014). Nowadays, most people love to do it as a nice way to spend their leisure time because it makes them feel relaxed, enjoyed, or even make money by doing it. There are many types of games such as board games, card games, roleplaying games, and electronic gaming; but all games have a common thing; they teach us various aspects of life. However, many, especially parents, regard games as a bad thing to do, but others think thatRead MoreVideo Games Effects On Entertainment Industry949 Words   |  4 Pagesentertainment industry. People from different ages playing video games from different types of consuls and games, and the sales from this industry is growing. What is makes different from video games than another entertainment industry is video games encourage people in diffe rent levels to have more attention and focus more emotionally and physically on the screen. There are different games that are made to appeal the gamers and have their own style and graphic to attract different stages of audience. MoreRead MoreVideo Games Can Cause Emotions1508 Words   |  7 Pagesgames use puzzles, questions, and plat-forming which the players are confronted with and are needed to solve. These types of interactions need constant thinking and planning to solve. Video games also use emotional tools in their story lines to give the players the sense of reality in the game, for example if one of the heroes in the story were to die for an honorable reason, then the gamer would feel a sense of sadness or pride in the characters sacrifice. Video games can cause emotions in people whichRead MoreAre Video Games Changing Us?1388 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to psychiatrist Adolph Casal, â€Å"gamers are not only releasing aggression while playing the game, they are pr acticing aggression and when we practice something, we become skilled at it (Nakaya). Gaming supporters perhaps do not realize the dangers of violent video games shown from studies by relating violent video games to aggressiveness and shootings. There have been studies on the effects of videogames which prove that they have a negative impact on gamers’ lives such as an increase in aggressivenessRead MoreThe Animals And Non Gamers1573 Words   |  7 PagesIn this experiment, all of the subjects were divided into two groups, gamers and non-gamers. In incongruent condition, subjects were presented with pictures of threatening animals (e.g. spiders, snakes etc.) and a conflicting word of the names of animals at the center of the pictures. While in natural condition, subjects were presented with six different types of threatening animals again like in the incongruent condition, but at the center of the picture, instead of conflicting words, there wereRead MoreThe Game Room Is A Sense Of Comfort For The Gamer1146 Words   |  5 Pagesthe family tries to stay warm with sweet rich hot chocolate. Meanwhile a gamer sits alone in darkness with the fireplace roaring. This may seem sad how he sits in darkness like this. However he is like a dragon in a dark cave with it’s hoard, warm comfortable and certainly not lonely. The environment in the game room creates a sense of comfort for the gamer, while darkness creates discomfort. This first photo depicts the gamer in his natural habitat, playing games with his online friends. The gameRead MoreNegative Effects Of Video Games1143 Words   |  5 Pagesvirtual world gaming to common arcade games players have been intrigued by the pixelated images, ideas and story lines created by developers. Video games of todays society contributes both positive and negative health related habits to the lives of gamers. Some would argue that games promote healthy habits such as enhanced hand-eye coordination, a better learning ability, and better decision-making skills. While others would say that video games hinder the growth of our world because it influencesRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On The Game927 Words   |  4 Pages Fallout 3 is an adventure game not like any other game that is out there. The music in the game has a very satisfying feel to it and the environment is very different from most games out there. The feeling of this game is like nothing any gamer may have come across before. A new breed of roll playing and adventure game has been born with the relese of Fallout 3. The music in the game is very interesting, it has a calm yet powerful feel to it. It gives the player a feeling of empowerment. Read MoreMedia Review Of Online Games789 Words   |  4 Pageswebsites and social media; these resources consist of current news relating to the industry, opinions, gameplay strategies, and background stories on games. Aside from media sites and blogging, gamers use YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, and Facebook for information and entertainment purposes. Through these sites, gamers post videos, interact with players, and discuss games. Even though these sources contain biases, the gaming community relies on reviews to inform their decision on purchasing a particular game

Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Question: Discuss about the Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience. Answer: Introduction The fact sheet is about the role of action potential and its use in the field of physiology. The fact sheet gives insight into the process of action potential and its function in cell to cell communication. The characteristics related to its function well-defines its importance in contraction of muscle cells and movement. The fact sheet also gives detail on the recovery period after an action potential and the consequences of manipulation in action potential. Action potential is a an event occurring in the membrane of the nerve cell or muscle cell which leads to the reversal of electric polarization of the membrane of the nerve cell. In the neuron, an action potential travels down the axon to change the polarity across the membrane. It results in the opening of the Na+ and K + gated ion channel. This gate closes once the threshold potential is reached. The initiation of the action potential is associated with depolarization (due to the transport of Na+ ions into the axon). Repolarization occurs when the K+ channel opens and moves out of the axon. Due to the change in polarity, the impulse travels down from the axon to other neurons (1). The main function of action potential is to engage in cell to cell communication by means of transmission of signals from axon to axon terminals and then into other neurons. It is also involved in activating intracellular processes in muscle cells. For example, action potential leads to contraction of muscle cells. During the action potential, positively charged ions move inside the neural membrane and the negatively charged ions moves out. The increase in the positive charge results in the generation of electric impulse, which passes down the nerve. In the muscle cells, it helps to produce the necessary contraction required for movement (2). As reflected from the explanation of the function role of action potential, potassium and sodium ion channel are mainly involved during this process. Both the channel plays role in all the stages of action potential such as the depolarization, repolarization and the refractory stage (3). The detail regarding the process in each stage and the involvement of both the channels is explained below. During the action potential, neourotransmitters or sensory receptors stimulate the cell in the membrane. As the sodium on diffuse into this part of the cell, the membrane slowly shift towards negative polarization stage. Finally, the potential reaches a threshold potential resulting in the opening of the calcium ions. This is followed by depolarization so that the impulse moves and takes place in other parts of the membrane. Characteristics related to its function The main characteristics of action potential are related to the depolarization of the cell due to transmit signals. Its function also reflect communication characteristics as generation of electric impulse during action potential act as a form of communication between the sensory receptors, muscles, brain and spinal cord. There is no strong or weak signal in action potential. It reaches either threshold value or the resting potential (4). There are three stages of action potential. They are: Depolarization stage- First the neuron is in resting potential due to high concentration of positive ions outside the cell and negative ions inside the cell. Depolarization occurs when positive sodium ions rushes inside the cell and reverses the polarity of the membrane. Repolarization stage- Once the electric gradient has reached the threshold value, the Na+ and K+ gate opens and positive charged potassium ions comes out from the neuron. In this way, the negative membrane potential is restored. Refractory phase- This occurs during the action potential when the sodium gate can open only when the membrane is repolarized to its resting potential. Hence, another action potential cannot occur in this stage (5). Recover after an action potential The period after the action potential has taken place in a neuron is called the refractory period in which another action potential cannot take place. Refractory period can be called a recovery time in which similar action cannot be repeated by cell. It is also defined as the time required for a second stimulus to occur once an excitable membrane returns to its resting stage. In this period, the potassium channel opens again and the sodium channel closes (6). Hence, the neuron returns back to its resting potential. After this recovery, another action potential is possible in the cell. The action potential is often manipulated to obtain a predetermined motor action from specific muscle. In some case the extra-cellular concentration of sodium and potassium ion is manipulated due to get a desired result. Manipulation is also done for cardiac potential to stimulate cardiac Calcium channel to open early. This results in increased contraction force. The advancement in molecular technology also lead to cloning of genes for different channels. By this experimental manipulation of the channels, genes were expressed. Researchers could easily identify the specific function properties of different parts of the channel such as the voltage sensitivity and kinetics of cellular interaction (7). Reference Sherwood L. Human physiology: from cells to systems. Cengage learning; 2015. Levitan IB, Kaczmarek LK. The neuron: cell and molecular biology. Oxford University Press, USA; 2015. Wolff M, Schnbel-Ehehalt R, Mhling J, Weigand MA, Olschewski A. Mechanisms of Lidocaines Action on Subtypes of Spinal Dorsal Horn Neurons Subject to the Diverse Roles of Na+ and K+ Channels in Action Potential Generation. Anesthesia Analgesia. 2014 Aug 1;119(2):463-70. Byrne JH, Heidelberger R, Waxham MN, editors. From molecules to networks: an introduction to cellular and molecular neuroscience. Academic Press; 2014 May 23. Myerburg RJ, Stewart JW, Ross SM, Hoffman BF. On-line measurement of duration of cardiac action potentials and refractory periods. Journal of applied physiology. 2016 Mar 24;28(1):92-3. Stengel R. Introduction to Neural Networks!. Lewis JE, Gilmour KM, Moorhead MJ, Perry SF, Markham MR. Action potential energetics at the organismal level reveal a trade-off in efficiency at high firing rates. Journal of Neuroscience. 2014 Jan 1;34(1):197-201. Lawson R, Graham J, Baker K. History of Psychology. Routledge; 2015 Oct 6.