When we are faced with a normal cognitive decline and when we can talk about dementia, like the Alzheimer’s disease? The decline of some cognitive abilities is part of aging. After all our abilities reach their peak around age 30 and then decline over time.
Normal cognitive decline: what changes with age?
As we get older It is normal to have difficulty remembering names and some words. We have difficulty multitasking and concentrating. It’s about abilities that scientists call fluidprecisely because they decrease with the passage of time.
There are natural changes in the brain due to age. Some areas designated for learning or other activities become smaller and narrower. Furthermore, the connection between neurons becomes less effective, blood flow decreases, while inflammation increases.
How to recognize normal cognitive decline?
One of the typical symptoms is forgetting names or confusing them, especially if they have letters in common or belong to two related people, such as siblings or children. While these brain tricks can be frustrating, they don’t necessarily indicate significant problems.
Our skills they can also change from day to day and not just due to age. We can experience a moment of stress, distraction, or having slept badly. One day we may remember little, the next day we may do much better.
How to understand the degree of cognitive decline?
If instead the difficulties we experience they become so pronounced that they affect our daily activities how to dress or not remember important names in our lives we must investigate.
Making a diagnosis is far from simple. Generally the alarm comes from family doctors. They know the patients and during a visit they can understand if they think something is wrong.
Cognitive tests
You can use the brain imaging, a diagnostic technique that allows you to visualize brain activity, as well as cognitive tests. The most used are the Mini Mental Status Exam where he Montreal Cognitive Assessmentto better understand the situation.
The first contains 11 questions. The person is asked to remember the date of the day and where they are. The doctor then says three words which the patient must repeat after a few minutes. He asks himself to say a word backwards. Then there are other questions that concern images and reading and writing exercises.
The second is a little more complicated and takes longer.
The difference between chronological and biological age
Each person ages differently. The chronological age does not always reflect the biological age. Much information can come from studies on the so-called superagersi super elderlyThat they have cognitive abilities comparable to twenty-thirty year olds even if they are already over 80.
What does the brain of a super senior look like?
Researchers are studying them to try to understand whether there are genetic and/or environmental factors that can slow down or even keep aging at bay. Some scans of their brains have shown how have more gray mattercompared to the general elderly population, in some areas responsible for memory and cognitive functions.
They usually have too Larger, healthier neurons in the entorhinal cortex. It is located in the medial temporal lobe and is central to all processes associated with episodic, autobiographical, and spatial memory. This is the structure that protects our identity and our ability to adapt to the environment. It is also one of the areas first affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
I super elderly have common social characteristicssuch as strong relationships with other people, a particularly active lifestyle and continue to challenge themselves.