Deck 14: Normal Aging and Dementia: Alzheimers Disease

Question 1

____________________ is part of a family of neurotrophins,or neuron feeding nutrients,which have long been known to sustain neural viability in the autonomic nervous system.It is currently being studied for its ability to increase cholinergic neuronal functioning.

Answer 1

Nerve growth factor

Question 2

Typically,individuals with ____________________ have poor attention,disorganized thinking,perceptual disruption,disorientation,memory impairment,and an altered state of consciousness.It does not signal the presence of dementia,but is a transient cognitive problem associated with an acute confusional state.

Answer 2

delirium

Question 3

Habitual ways of solving problems is a form of ____________________.

Answer 3

crystallized intelligence

Question 4

Only individuals suffering from a dementia have amyloid plaques in their brain.

Question 5

The degeneration of neurons is referred to as ____________________.

Question 6

Upon autopsy,neurofibrillary tangles can be found within the frontal and parietal lobes of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Question 7

____________________ results in an abnormal cognitive decline.

Question 8

A decrease in the neurotransmitter ____________________,which is used by neurons in the basal forebrain and hippocampus,is a major cause of the symptoms seen in Alzheimer's disease.

Question 9

The intermediary or transitional stage between normal aging and dementia is called ____________________.
or

Question 10

Most individuals with Alzheimer's Disease will perform well on procedural memory tasks.

Question 11

Healthy older adults will not demonstrate impairments in fluid intelligence.

Question 12

____________________ dementias begin in the gray matter.

Question 13

Alzheimer's Disease affects physical integrity of the basal ganglia and hippocampus.

Question 14

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease lose ____________________,which is the ability to self-monitor their own behavior and performance.

Question 15

Novel reasoning and the efficiency of solving new problems or responding to abstract ideas is called fluid intelligence.

Question 16

Novel reasoning is a form of ____________________.

Question 17

____________________ and neurofibrillary tangles have been implicated in Alzheimer's disease but are also present in normal aging.

Question 18

Johansson and his colleagues (1991)suggest that terminal decline,or proximity to death,may be more related to cognitive functioning than chronological age is.

Question 19

The neuritic plaques found in Alzheimer's Disease contain an amino acid peptide protein core termed ____________________.

Question 20

Individuals with Alzheimer's disease are impaired on visual spatial tests that ask them to draw objects on command.

Question 21

Alzheimer's disease is a dementia characterized as:

A)cortical,static,and irreversible
B)cortical,progressive,and reversible
C)subcortical,progressive,and irreversible
D)cortical,progressive,and irreversible

Question 22

Dementia refers to:

A)a cortical pathology resulting in cognitive decline.
B)a subcortical pathology resulting in cognitive decline.
C)a cluster of behavioral symptoms.
D)a syndrome of impairment within higher cognitive functioning.

Question 23

Fluid intelligence involves:

A)memory for information repeated within a test session.
B)efficiency of solving new problems.
C)digit span on the WAIS-R.
D)factual information learned over time.

Question 24

Crystallized intelligence:

A)is a measure of non-flexible thinking.
B)is most subject to the effects of aging.
C)is formed by age 20.
D)includes specialized information learned over time.

Question 25

A 65-year-old male with a college degree and a managerial position would be expected to perform better on tests of ____ than an aged peer who dropped out of high school and held mostly manual labor jobs.

A)visuospatial ability
B)mental calculation
C)general information and vocabulary
D)short term memory

Question 26

Depression can mimic dementia.

Question 27

Senile plaques contain beta-amyloid

Question 28

Neurofibrillary tangles have all of the following qualities except:

A)present in normal aging.
B)made of tau proteins.
C)contain beta-amyloid.
D)resemble twisted pairs of ropes.

Question 29

____ is associated with cognitive declines in fluid intelligence.

A)White matter low attenuation
B)Subcortical white matter tract dysconnection syndrome
C)Cortical atrophy
D)Thinning of the gray matter

Question 30

Predictable decline in normal aging occurs in the following domains:

A)new learning,abstract reasoning,and behavioral slowing.
B)new learning,complex problem solving,and graphomotor impairment.
C)abstract reasoning,vocabulary,and complex problem solving.
D)behavioral slowing,graphomotor impairment,and new learning.

Question 31

Retrieval cues greatly enhance memory in individuals with Alzheimer's disease.

Question 32

Diagnostic criteria for dementia include:

A)loss of intellectual functioning and memory impairment.
B)loss of intellectual functioning and multiple areas of cognitive impairment.
C)memory & language impairment with intellectual deterioration.
D)change from premorbid functioning.

Question 33

Sense of smell is impaired in Alzheimer's disease.

Question 34

Chromosome 21 was implicated with the observance of the comorbidity of Alzheimer's and:

A)Down's syndrome.
B)multiple sclerosis.
C)Huntington's disease.
D)trisonomy.

Question 35

The study by Johansson et al (1991)on normal aging in Sweden found:

A)a dichotomy between fluid and crystallized intelligence.
B)people between ages of 84-90 were cognitive impaired across domains.
C)stability in cognitive and functional abilities in the majority of the people.
D)proximity to death had nothing to do with cognitive functioning.

Question 36

Which of the following statistics is true about the aging baby boomer population?

A)The elderly buy 25% of prescription drugs.
B)10% of individuals 65 and older reside in specialized settings.
C)The elderly account for over 40% of hospitalization days in acute care settings.
D)all of these

Question 37

Cortical dementia is to ____ as subcortical dementia is to ____.

A)white matter alterations; gray matter alterations
B)Alzheimer's disease; Pick's disease
C)learning and memory decline; retrieval deficits
D)gray matter alterations; white matter alterations

Question 38

Changes in brain anatomy associated with normal aging include:

A)cortical atrophy
B)increased intracranial pressure
C)demyelination in the temporal cortex
D)decreased cerebrospinal fluid production

Question 39

Which area of neuropsychological functioning is affected by normal aging?

A)attention/concentration
B)abstract reasoning
C)long-term memory
D)semantic processing

Question 40

Alzheimer's disease is a subcortical dementia.

Question 41

Both the famous Nun and Scottish studies show a correlational link between early intelligence and the health of the aging brain.

Question 42

To augment levels of acetylcholine,pharmacological interventions:

A)increase consumption of choline-containing lecithin.
B)block the breakdown of acetylcholine by disinhibiting acetylcholinesterase.
C)increase the firing rate of post-synaptic cholinergic receptors.
D)block the re-uptake of acetylcholine with the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase.

Question 43

The following neurotransmitters are hypothesized to be involved in AD except:

A)dopamine.
B)acetylcholine.
C)glutamate.
D)somatostatin.

Question 44

If you wanted to teach a patient with moderate to severe AD how to use a wheelchair,the best strategy to use would be:

A)practice with actual motor learning in operating a wheelchair.
B)go over the instructions several times so they might commit it to memory.
C)use both visual and verbal cues to aid their performance.
D)use diagrams to elicit the visual memory system.

Question 45

Compare and contrast crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence.In your discussion,define each concept,explain how each type of intelligence changes with normal aging,and,based on the research presented in the text,hypothesize as to why a 70-year-old person may show more cognitive decline than a 90-year-old person.

Question 46

The deterioration of memory in AD occurs in all the following domains except:

A)short term memory.
B)long term episodic memory.
C)new declarative memory.
D)procedural memory.

Question 47

Currently available drugs to treat dementia,particularly AD,target which system?

A)limbic system
B)cholinergic system
C)ventricular system
D)hormonal system

Question 48

Excess disability in the case of dementia may be:

A)an inability to perform activities of daily living.
B)decreased or increased activity levels.
C)agitation or other personality alterations.
D)memory impairment.

Question 49

Using what you know about the structural damage that occurs as a result of AD,why would a test of olfaction be useful in distinguishing AD from depression or forgetfulness in the early stages of AD?

Question 50

Diagnostic problem.Read the following case and make a list of possible diagnoses,explaining:

Question 51

Semantic knowledge degradation is evidenced in AD by all the following except:

A)problems with semantic clustering during memory tasks.
B)problems in retrieval of superordinate category exemplars.
C)problems with fluency.
D)problems with name retrieval.

Question 52

In the case of dementias,it is most often necessary to make a differential diagnosis between which conditions?

A)dementia and psychosis.
B)dementia and bipolar disorder.
C)dementia and depression.
D)dementia and pica.

Question 53

Provide a functional definition of dementia (including what it is not).Then list and define the 3 subtypes/classifications of dementia mentioned in Chapter 14.

Question 54

When differentiating between depression and dementia in the elderly,which of the following is NOT a complicating factor in the diagnosis?

A)Some elderly patients are heavily medicated.
B)Depression may coexist with a cognitive disorder.
C)Depressed patients tend to deny memory problems.
D)Depression and dementia share some symptoms.

Question 55

One of the ways investigators hope to introduce nerve growth factor into the brain of patients with AD is:

A)through a lumbar injection directly into cerebrospinal fluid.
B)with dietary supplements.
C)attaching NGF to a gene of a retrovirus.
D)craniotomy.

Question 56

A 40-year-old woman presents with complaints,stating she "doesn't remember things like she used to," and,as a result,she feels constantly overwhelmed at her high-pressure job.Neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging reveal no abnormalities and that she is functioning at a high-average level.She continues to be concerned about "losing" her memory and processing speed,so her physician has advised that she engage in aerobic exercise to protect against cognitive decline.Argue for or against this position.

Question 57

Delirium and dementia can be difficult to differentiate.Please discuss and compare the impairments caused by these disorders and provide a diagnosis for the following case using the information you discuss:
Case: You are presented with a patient whose wife reports that over the last few months he has been forgetting things,like where he has put the car keys or if he has taken his medication.Of highest concern is that the patient has gotten lost while driving on a familiar route twice now.There have been no changes to your patient's medical care or medications.

Question 58

The best diagnostic tool for AD is:

A)MRI.
B)CT.
C)EEG studies.
D)biopsy.

Question 59

The presence of Apolipoprotein E4 has been hypothesized to:

A)increase the risk of AD to 75%.
B)transport cholesterol to the brain.
C)occur on Chromosome 9.
D)delay the age of onset for AD by 90%.

Question 60

Which of the following is NOT considered essential in the diagnostic criteria for dementia?

A)Memory impairment
B)Impairment of cognition/intellectual function
C)little to no disturbance of consciousness
D)evidence of cortical atrophy

Question 61

What loss of tissue is evident in this picture? Given that this came from an 80-year-old,is it possible to diagnosis a disorder based on this?