Psychology 210: Chapter 9

Explain Alzheimer's disease and other neurocognitive disorders.

Alzheimer's disease, 2016 researchers estimated 5.4 million Americans were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. By the year 2050 people who are 65 years and older are projected to be 13.8 million (if no medical breakthroughs are found by that time). Alzheimer's has a gradual onset with subtle personality changes and memory loss. The confusion starts along with difficulties with change, and deterioration in language, problem-solving skills, and personality starts to become more noticeable. The average survival years of Alzheimer's disease is eight years but some can live up to twenty years with the disease.

A Major Neurocognitive Disorder is diagnosed as a significant cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains and interferes with independent functioning. Minor Neurocognitive Disorder is diagnosed as a modest cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains and does not interfere with independent functioning. Minor Neurocognitive Disorder is like, for example, when you walk to another room to let's say, grab a pencil, but once you get into the room you forget when you went into the room for. Major Neurocognitive Disorder is when, for instance, you forget about major events constantly and when you even forget about the little things (all the time). It can become difficult to differentiate the two but when you keep forgetting constantly, it's major but when you forget like what you are grabbing from a room it is minor. Major Neurocognitive Disorders need constant reminders every day from a journal or a video. Kind of like the movies "The Notebook" and "50 First Dates" are the perfect examples of Major Neurocognitive Disorders.