I am going to talk about cognitive processes of memory and how biological factors may affect the onset of Alzheimers disease.

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3. Explain how biological factors affect one cognitive process

 

The mind can be conceptualized as a set of mental processes that are carried out by the brain. Cognition refers to mental processes such as perception, thinking, problem solving, memory, language and attention. Cognition is based on one's mental representations of the world, such as images, concepts and words. Biological factors affect cognitive processes.

I am going to talk about cognitive processes of memory and how biological factors may affect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. A distinctly psychological process, memory, is determined to a very great extent by the state of identifiable brain structures like the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and forebrain.

 

Memory is the job of the brain. There are two different models of memory: the multi-store model and the working memory model. The multi-store model of memory was first suggested by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The model is based on two assumptions: firstly, memory consists of a number of separate stores, and secondly, the memory processes are sequential. The model contains several stores: sensory memory, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

Firstly, information enters into sensory memory through our five senses (iconic, echoic, olfactory, gustatory and haptic) where it will stay for a few seconds and is then lost by decay. A very small part of information enters into STM by selective attention. Information in STM is quickly lost if not given attention. The information is encoded into LTM via rehearsal.

Case studies show that LTM must consist of several stores. At the first level, LTM is divided into two systems: the first is explicit memory. This type of memory focuses on “knowing what”. Explicit memory has been divided onto two subsystems: semantic memories (memory of facts) and episodic memories (memory of events). The second unit of LTM is implicit memory, which contains memories that we are not consciously aware of. Implicit memory is divided into three subsystems: procedural memory (memory of how to do things), emotional memories (memory of how emotional states) and priming memory (i.e recognition of stuff when you see a color)

The working memory model, suggested by Baddeley and Hitch (1974), is based on the multi-store model. In the working memory model, STM includes several components, namely the central executive, episodic buffer, phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.

The central executive controls and coordinates the other components- slave systems. The main function is attentional control, which is divided into two levels: the automatic level and the supervisory attentional level. The automatic level is based on habit and is controlled more or less automatically from external stimuli, like cycling to school. The supervisory attentional level deals with emergencies. The main function of the next component, episodic buffer, is to act as a temporary and passive display until the information is needed. The next component, phonological loop, is divided into two components: the articulatory control system and the phonological store. Articulatory control system, or inner voice, holds information in a verbal form, like repeating a telephone number to remember it. Phonological store, or inner ear, holds speech-based material in a phonological form. The visuospatial sketchpad, or inner eye, deals with visual or spatial information from either sensory memory or LTM.

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Now I am going to talk about a cognitive process of memory and how biological factors may affect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is a serious degenerative brain disease. The main symptoms of AD relate to memory impairment. For example, symptoms such as difficulty speaking and understanding language, problems with focusing attention, impaired movement or altered personality are all pertinent to AD. AD progress to even more serious memory loss. In addition, patients experience confusion, depression, hallucinations, delusions, sleeplessness and loss of appetite. It takes 2-15 years for AD to run its course. Drugs may slow down ...

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