Alzheimers Disease Essay example -- Alzheimers Disease Essays

Alzheimers illnessOn the beginning(a) day of class, it was proposed that Brain=Behavior, implying that not only all in all actions and emotions can be explained by neuronal activity, but also the very(prenominal) sense of self which is so important to many of us. This latter innuendo was met with considerable resistance. Surely there must be more to an individuals temperament and self-importance than a bunch of patterns of activity across neurons. Through the explore I have done for this paper, I have discovered that disorders such(prenominal) as Alzheimers disease add a new twist to the grapple surrounding the origin of the Self. My purpose here is to provide an overview of Alzheimers disease, including its neurobiological basis, the differences betwixt early and late onset, and some of the possible causes, and then to readdress the question of whether the Self can be traced to the Brain in light of this information. Over the experience few decades, Alzheimers disease has come to be recognized as the intimately common form of dementia among the worlds older population, affecting an estimated 4 trillion people in the United States alone (1, 2). It is characterized by comeive neediness of memory, language and reasoning skills, and other cognitive functions, as well as changes in personality, such as increased aggressiveness (1, 2). No defined cause has been discovered, and it is as yet without a cure however, much progress has been and continues to be made, and many scientists believe that a cure will in the end be developed. Although the causes are unknown, research has shown that the disease begins in the entorhinal cortex and spreads first to the hippocampus and then proceeds to other parts of the brain, particularly the intellectual cortex. Since these two regions are ... ...comprehensive summary of current research regarding the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimers, including care. In addition to this wealth of information, the s ite has excellent graphical representations accessible by links throughout the text, as well as a burnish of technical terms at the end.2. http//hcs.harvard.edu80/husn/BRAIN/vol3/b96txt.htmlEarlyand juvenile Early and Late Onset as Subdivisions of Alzheimers Disease, an article by Elizabeth Kensinger published in the online journal, The Harvard BRAIN. Explores and explains research to date regarding these two different forms of Alzheimers disease, covering the symptomatic, biological, genetic, neurophysiological and neurological characteristics of both(prenominal) early and late onset subtypes. Then proceeds to draw conclusions from this data, regarding coming(prenominal) approaches to diagnosis and treatment.