Learning Objectives

After completing this course you’ll be able to:

1. Define executive function
2. Discuss emotional processing.
3. Compare episodic memory and somatic memory.
4. Compare procedural memory and working memory
5. Describe the cognitive spectrum.
6. Describe the two types of mild cognitive impairment.
7. List several causes of mild cognitive impairment.
8. Describe several tests used to study mild cognitive impairment.
9. List the two challenges facing scientists who study mild cognitive impairment.
10. Define syndrome and dementia.
11. List the four main causes of dementia.
12. Discuss the following conditions: normal-pressure hydrocephalus, Huntington’s disease and Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease.
13. Compare delirium and dementia.
14. List examples of neuropsychological tests.
15. Compare computerized tomography with magnetic resonance imaging.
16. Compare a positron emission tomography scan with an amyloid PET scan.
17. List common symptoms of the four causes of dementia.
18. Compare plaques and tangles.
19. Compare young-onset and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
20. Define oxidative stress and inflammation.
21. List several signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
22. Describe preclinical Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease.
23. List several conditions that accompany Alzheimer’s disease.
24. Describe the three most common forms of atypical Alzheimer’s disease.
25. Define sporadic Alzheimer’s.
26. State the role of acetylcholine.
27. Discuss the use of cholinesterase inhibitors.
28. Compare conventional and atypical antipsychotics.
29. Compare Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal degeneration.
30. Describe the two most common types of frontotemporal degeneration.
31. Define integrative medicine.
32. Compare Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites.
33. Discuss fluctuations in Lewy body dementia.
34. Describe the autonomic nervous system and give examples of dysfunction.
35. tate how the MRI compares Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia
36. List several medications a person with Lewy body dementia should avoid.
37. Describe vascular cognitive impairment.
38. Discuss the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial study.
39. Compare the signs and symptoms of vascular cognitive impairment with Alzheimer’s disease.
40. Define stigma.
41. List several common myths and stereotypes.
42. List thoughtful ways to communicate with people who have dementia
43. Discuss the challenges of coming to terms with the diagnosis of dementia.
44. State responses of the family with a dementia diagnosis.
45. List several steps a person can take who has been recently diagnosed with dementia.