ALZHEIMER'S

DISEASE

A Brain Disorder

Hadia Saif
CHEM51F20R030
BRAIN:

• A remarkable organ
• Voluntary (can speak, move, see, remember,
feel emotions, and make decisions) and In-
voluntary actions (breathing,
blood circulation, and digestion)
• Made up of nerve cells, neurons.
• Brain neurons can live for up to 100
years or longer.
• Parts of brain related to memory?
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC.
THE AMYGDALA
• regulate emotions, such as fear and aggression
• involved in memory consolidation: the process
of transferring new learning into long-term
memory

THE HIPPOCAMPUS
• functions in memory processing.
• communication among neurons via
neurotransmitters is critical for
developing new memories
• normal recognition memory as well as
• spatial memory (when the memory
tasks are like recall tests)
THE CEREBELLUM

• plays a large role in implicit memories (procedural

memory, motor learning, and classical conditioning)
• prefrontal cortex appears to be active during a variety
of memory related tasks

NEUROTRANSMITTERS

• specific neurotransmitters involved with the process of

memory, such as epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin,
glutamate, and acetylcholine
• communication among neurons via neurotransmitters is
critical for developing new memories
• strong emotions trigger the formation of strong
memories
The Aging Brain
● Some neurons shrink, especially large
ones in areas important to learning,
memory, planning, and other complex
mental activities.
● Tangles and plaques develop in neurons
and surrounding areas, though in much
smaller amounts
• Healthy older people may notice a
modest decline in their ability to learn
new things and retrieve information,
such as remembering names.