The Characteristics Of Crossword Puzzles And Dementia

·  What conclusions did the study reach? Are the conclusions appropriate? Why or why not?

One criticism of this research is that it is correlational. Therefore, we cannot infer a causal

Cognitive stimulation can help to slow the decline of dementia in the early stages. Stimulation helps to keep the processes of the brain functioning.

While these studies provide positive results the draw back to them are that the sample groups for each were considerably small which means that there is insufficient evidence to support

• Gain experience with the scientific method and be able to propose hypotheses and justifications to

It occasionally happens to everyone.  You can’t find your glasses.  The grocery list is on the refrigerator, and you’re at the store.  You forget the new neighbour’s first name.

One way that people who are working with the elderly community can interact with individuals with dementia is by playing games such as memory games that can help them keep their mind’s going. According to Karen Miller, publisher of Memory Jogging Puzzles, stated that “Studies have shown, that memory games help slow down memory loss and brain deterioration.” These games can range anywhere from being low-tech, or high-tech. Some games that the help stimulate the mind that individuals with dementia are cards games such as concentration. Concentration is a well-known card game that is often seen in quiz shows and in educational programs. In the basic form, cards are laid face down on a surface and two cards are flipped face up over each turn. The object of the game is to turn over pairs of matching cards. This game is used to exercise the brain and help recollect and concentrate individuals with dementia. Some other games that I personally play with my residents at work are bingo and ball toss.

Were there any unexpected findings? What did the authors conclude? What did the results mean, and what are their implications?

The authors relied heavily on two studies to create their argument. The first study mentioned was the Pinto et al article. In this study, "Pinto and colleagues (5) assessed the

Smith et al. (2013) took a less studied approach to improving cognitive decline by testing the effects of aerobic exercise on adults (60-88 years old) already suffering from cognitive impairment. After 12 weeks of moderate exercise there was an improvement of memory and neural efficiency across all subjects.

Did you know that Alzheimer’s disease kills more people than both prostate and breast cancer put together? This neurodegenerative illness is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but not only does Alzheimer’s affect the five million Americans living with it. People caring for those with the disease gave up around eighteen billion of their own hours this past year to provide the needed service. What’s even more staggering is that these caregivers put in these hours without pay. Alzheimer’s is a serious concern to scientists, but the disease is rooted in the most complex, confusing part of the human body, the brain. This is a reason why an effective cure for the disease has been unavailable in the past, but new developments

The topic I am writing about is memory loss or more specifically: Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Modern medicine has improved significantly in the last decade and the average human lifespan has been extended. However, since humans are living longer, there is also an increased susceptibility for chronic diseases as opposed to infectious diseases. A chronic disease that is slowly on the rise is Alzheimer’s, as it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. This topic is important to me because I’ve had numerous encounters with patients with dementia and have seen the impact it has on many families and friends. Additionally, the brain is arguably

Dementia is a debilitating disease that slowly destroys the mind from within, slowly destroying people's memories, movement and cognitive ability until taking the person's life. With a steady decline from two to three years and a more aggressive decline from three year to five years where it enters its final stage, normally resulting in death (Willis, Tennstedt, Marsiske, Ball, Elias, Koepkem, Morris, Rebok, Unverzagt, Stoddard & Wright, 2006). However while currently there is no cure for Dementia, during the two to three year span the disease can be delayed and symptoms can be minimised through a form of treatment (Willis et al., 2006;Gates, Sachdev, Singh & Valenzuela, 2011). Known as Cognitive training, defined as the targeting of specific areas of cognitive function through specific techniques to help delay the symptoms of Dementia (Jean, Bergeron, Tbivirge & Simard, 2010).

Overall the popular press articles had a surprisingly accurate depiction of the research study they were reporting. All of the articles explained the method of the study and the overall result. However, they did exclude some important information from the study.

A 2011 study by Treiber and colleagues, as part of the population based ‘Cache County Dementia Progression Study’ in Utah, presented evidence for the correlation between regular partaking in activities that result in high level cognitive stimulation and a reduction in the rate of cognitive decline (p. 421). Treiber and colleagues use a levelling system in their experiment in which a given activity is of active, intermediate or passive cognitive stimulation, categorising such activities as crossword puzzles to be