MEMORY: the cognitive process whereby information is retained and recalled from past experiences AD: Alzheimer's Disease.
AD is a serious and progressive degenerative brain disease, which leads to the loss of neurons and often leading to dementia. The onset of symptoms is gradual but its progression is irreversible. AD impairs the creation of new memories but procedural memory (how to die a bike or play a musical instrument) is largely unaffected. Episodic memory (memory of events and personal experiences) is the most severely affected. Episodic memory problems are the earliest symptoms of AD. AD also causes a steady decline in the semantic memory – general knowledge about the world, concepts and language.
EPISODIC MEMORY: a personal and unique memory of a specific event e.g. family memories
SEMANTIC MEMORY: worldly knowledge e.g. 9/11 terrorist attack
Biological factors affecting AD:
Medial temporal lobe
Deterioration of neurons involved in the production of acetylcholine