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Changes
in the Brain
Changes
in a person's behaviour can be a sign of damage to certain
areas of the brain.
Below
are descriptions of what each area of the brain does and
how damage to that area can cause specific changes.
Limbic
System
- is
affected early in Alzheimer's disease
- is
involved with memory and emotion
- links
the lobes of the brain, enabling them to connect behaviour
with memories
- controls
emotion and basic needs (such as sleeping and eating)
Changes
that may be seen:
- difficulty
in finding objects and remembering where they were placed
- suspiciousness
- irritability,
depression or anxiety
Hippocampus
and Temporal Lobes
- hippocampus:
where verbal and visual memory are processed (verbal memories
are words -- memories related to what we read or say or
hear; visual memory lets us recognize objects, faces and
places to guide us around our environment)
- temporal
lobes: control new learning and short-term memory
Changes that may be
seen:
- lapses
in short-term memory
- inability
to retain memory of the recent past
- living
in the present moment
- loss
of vocabulary skills
- inability
to recognize familiar faces, objects or places
Parietal
Lobes
- help
us put activities in a sequence (such as putting clothes
on in the right order, using tools or performing tasks
that require a logical sequence, such as starting and
driving a car)
- control
our ability to understand spatial information (such as
where we are in a specific environment, and where other
objects are)
Changes that may be
seen:
The
problems will vary depending on whether the left or right
side of the brain is affected.
-
using words incorrectly
- difficulty
in understanding what others say
- speaking
in general terms rather than specifically
- inability
to express thoughts clearly in writing
- difficulty
handling bank accounts or paying bills
- getting
lost easily
- difficulty
putting on clothing
- balance
and gait difficulties
Frontal
Lobe
- initiates
activity, and lets us plan and organize our actions
- regulates our
social judgment and behaviour (such as knowing what behaviour
is appropriate to a situation, interpreting the feelings
of other people and monitoring our own actions)
Changes
that may be seen:
- the person appears
apathetic, uninterested
- stops
hobbies or other activities previously enjoyed
- quickly
loses interest in an activity, seems content to sit, does
not respond to others
- withdraws from others
- is unable to stop an activity, repeating it over and over
Occipital
Lobe
- controls
vision, and the ability to see and combine colours, shapes,
angles and movement into meaningful patterns
Changes that may be
seen:
Although
the occipital lobe is not usually directly involved in Alzheimer's disease, the surrounding visual areas that allow us to put
the elements of vision together can be affected, and this
then leads to unusual perceptual difficulties, such as loss
of depth vision or inability to see movement.
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