Rohdina Harriott Mrs. Ashlyn-Walden UWRT 1104 3-12-16 Background Information

The brain is essentially the most significant organ in the body, next to the heart. All of the

amazing memories we make on a daily basis and important information we store away for future

references, all thanks are due to the brain. What happens when it ceases to function and all the

memories we’ve retained gets lost? How do we cope? Who will you remember? Who won’t you

remember? These are all questions following the diagnosis of dementia, more specifically

Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s, often just referred to as Alz, is the 6th leading cause of death in the

United States and for every 67 seconds that passes, one person in the US develops the illness. It

is most common in folks ages 65 and older but can be developed in people younger (Burns,

Alistar, Iliffe, 338:467-471). Alz is a brain disorder that gradually destroys memory and our

ability to think, and ultimately the ability to carry out the simplest of tasks. It is also irreversible,

and patients are left with nothing but treatment that is made to slow the progression. In late

stages of Alz, you lose full function of basic motor skills and loss of function progresses

throughout the entire body, which in turn leads to death.

The reasoning behind my research is to determine what aspect of brain is most responsible

for our memory and the differentiation between normal forgetfulness and forgetting as a result of

Comment [1]: Overall, I really enjoyed reading your assignment. I learned some things about Alzheimer's and memory that I did not know before. I really like how you conducted your study with the questions asked and the chart created for their responses. I also like how you discussed memory in a normal brain and compared it to the Alzheimer's brain as well. Overall, you did great!

Comment [2]: Great job on your background! I found it very informative. Also the way you introduced the whole general topic made me want to read and learn more!

Alzheimer’s. In regards to my study, I plan to gather individuals who are in the early and mid

stages of Alzheimer’s and people who aren’t affected to determine the rate at which they forget

received information and compare them to individuals whose brain are deemed normal.

My connection with this topic is personal. My grandmother recently passed from

Alzheimer’s but I was relatively young when she was first diagnosed. Initially the doctors

misdiagnosed her and was taking pills for an illness she did not have. It wasn’t until maybe a 5th

doctor’s visit that they finally did the MRI and realized it was Alzheimer’s. Mind you this took

place in Jamaica a decade ago, and not to say the doctor’s weren’t proficient there but not as

much as the ones in the US. I was around 8 or 9 when I noticed she would act different and often

forget minute things and then the 2 years following she could hardly remember her children and

so I’d say hers progressed quicker than usual as she wasn’t receiving the correct treatment. I

became fascinated with the disease because as I got older I saw what it did to her and knowing I

could not interact with her the same was difficult to accept. Knowing my situation and how I

relate, I will try to refrain from showing any bias in regards to how I approach my study as to

some I may be too emotionally invested in this topic.

Literature Review Very often people will relate forgetfulness with old age. It is typically a common

statement to hear people say, “I must be getting old” at the event of misplacing an item or

lacking the ability to remember minute things. We all forget things from time to time even with a

healthy brain. In an experiment that was conducted by Eddinghaus in 1855 where he learned a

Comment [3]: I enjoyed the first couple sentences of your literature review. Since your topic is about Alzheimer's, maybe mention basic facts about the disease before discussing forgetfulness in a healthy brain or in comparison with it. I feel like this first paragraph is veering away from your topic of Alzheimer's.

list of nonsense syllables, it demonstrated the rate at which information is forgotten. After

learning the syllables and being able to repeat without making any errors and testing the amount

forgotten by the method of relearning, shows after 20 minutes 0 percent of the processed

information was forgotten. As the time increased, within an hour more than 55 percent of the

information was forgotten and by the 6th day a whooping 75 percent was no longer remembered.

These learning and forgetting experiments have been repeated various times and the subjects in

the experiment did not report to have poor memories (Fernberger, 56-59).

In a short video by neuroscientist, Neil Burgess, he explains to us how we remember

things. In the case of trying to remember where we parked in a large parking lot, the

hippocampus comes into play. The hippocampus is located in the temporal lobe just a small

distance from the center of the brain. Our hippocampus is a form of storage for our long-term

memory and so when damaged, much like what happens to patients with Alzheimer’s, you forget

things like where you parked your car. The neurons that are contained in the hippocampus sends

out shocks as means of communication when we are in a specific place of our environment. The

brain over time gets familiar with our surroundings and marks it on an individual neuron in the

brain much like we do on a map. There are over 100 billion neurons in the hippocampus and

each are responsible for remembering different things so essentially we know where we are

parked or what direction to turn next when we are going home due to those specific neurons

being signaled (Burgess, TEDtalks). The hippocampus does a similar process when it comes to

episodic memories. If you ever find yourself trying to remember a past event in your life such as

your first day of high school, graduation or even the first time you rode a bike, you’ll not only

remember when it occurred but also where it did. This is due to the brain using special cells

within the hippocampus to mark or “geotag” every event in our life (J. Hamilton “Brain Cells

Comment [4]: This sentence seems a little off to me. I'm not 100% why though. Just a heads up.

Comment [5]: I found this research to be very interesting. It's cool to actually be able to put a face on how much information is stored and for how long. Even though everyone's brains vary and have probably evolved since 1855. I really found this informative. Comment [6]: Continuing with my comment in the previous paragraph, your second paragraph would be a better introduction to your literature review than what you have. I suggest combining references with studies of a healthy brain like in the first paragraph and with your references of an Alzheimer's brain. This might help with understanding how a healthy brain differs from an Alz brain.

Comment [7]: I feel like this second paragraph would function much better as the first, or introduction paragraph in this section. It seems to add more information while also grabbing the readers attention. Or perhaps combining the two paragraphs would work to more effective keep the flow of the section.

Geotag Memories..”). We typically remember almost every event following the age of three but

not prior and this is said to be due to childhood amnesia. As described by Sigmund Freud, we try

to repress memories from infancy and this was proven throughout a survey in 1948 by

Waldfogel. Waldfogel did an interrogation in which people has to state their earliest memories

throughout their life. There were a series of scarce memories prior to the age of 8 but no one

could recall events before the age of 3 (Eacott, 8:46-49). So for the events we do remember, the

timing of it and location are ultimately fused together by geotagging and this is actually the same

concept of a digital camera when a photo is taken it automatically tags its date, time and location

(J. Hamilton “Brain Cells Geotag Memories..”).

With Alzheimer’s, we become incapable of remembering anything overtime as the

hippocampus is being viciously attacked. The brain not only loses its ability to process

information but the flow of blood drastically decreases, denying the cells of oxygen and

deterioration of the nerve cells later occur. Amyloid, a type of protein, kills the nerve cells one

by one as it clumps together and turns into plaques. The signaling of the neurons that was talked

about earlier, ultimately comes to a stop which causes the neurons to no longer function as it

should (Healy, 134:23).

With the rapid increase of Alzheimer’s, everyone worries at the slightest memory

failure and fear they might suffer from the disease. What we need to understand is that there is a

difference between normal and abnormal memory. It is natural that as we get older, new

information that the brain receives will cause a delay in learning it and the brain starts to retain

less information as opposed to when younger. Not to say someone of an older age can’t have a

better memory than someone younger than they are but typically as we age, this is what the brain

undergoes. Age related changes in memory differ in many significant ways from the changes in

memory caused by alzheimer’s disease (Albert, 352: 1703-1709). In the “Building a Mystery”

journal (Gaines, Whitehouse, 13:61-74), it talks about applying Mild Cognitive Impairment to

patients. MCI can mean two things, that an individual has early onset Alzheimer’s, one doesn’t

or one will develop. Every form of progressive degenerative dementia symptoms may be

present but not always present enough to diagnose as dementia. In a study conducted

between folks with Alzheimer’s disease, and those without, showed the difference between a

normal ageing memory and one with the disease.

Entering the Conversation

After thoroughly reading through my sources and determining that the hippocampus is the

aspect of the brain in charge of memory loss, I believe more focus should be done on this

specific aspect of the brain for research. Forgetting is normal, it is a part of life though some tend

to have better memories than others, we all forget something whether it may be to return a call,

do an assignment or the name of someone you’ve recently met. It is extremely crucial that the

hippocampus remains healthy for complete function to be carried out. When damaged we can

begin to draw concerns, as it will no longer be just forgetting the name of someone you’ve just

met but the names of those closest to you. But what really occurs with the activity of the

hippocampus when we receive information? How long does it take for the hippocampus to retain

any given information? I believe a study can be designed to demonstrate the rate at which

information is lost between people with Alzheimer’s and people without, while undergoing

functional analysis to monitor the hippocampal activity.

Comment [8]: I noticed in your bibliography you listed 12 sources but you only used 9 within your literature review and background information. Maybe try to use one of the sources you didn't use from your bibliography page to reach the requirement of 10-12 sources. You could try to find a source about as to why people get Alzheimer's and talk a little about that.

Comment [9]: I would like to hear or see more from this study. It doesn't seem like a proper ending to a section. It just feels like something is missing.

To conduct this study, I would gather (with consent from families) about 4 patients, 2 from

the early stage of Alzheimer’s and 2 from the mid and another 4 individuals who do not suffer

from any form of dementia. The early stage patients will be ages 50 and 60, the mid stage are 70

and 80. The ages of the four people who do not have the disease are 25, 45 and 65 and 85. They

will all be placed under a functional analysis screening tool while being asked a series of

questions. Each patient will be asked the same 6 memory questions, ranging from least to most

difficult and expected to give their response within a certain time frame. In order to see how long

the memory is retained, we will do 2 minutes from when the question is asked to receive their

answer. This will be repeated three times to see if there are any changes in answers. The

questions that will be asked are as followed:

1. What did you do prior to coming here?

2. What did you have for breakfast this morning?

3. What is your home address? (Street name, town, state, building number, zip code)

4. You will be given the names of five animals that you will be asked to repeat them in the

order they are given: cat, cow, dog, elephant, horse, sheep.

5. What did you do yesterday morning?

6. What was the first question we asked?

Comment [10]: I agree with Sam!

Comment [11]: So far I really like your plan of study. I think it would be wise to gather more than 4 patients. Maybe gather like 15 patients, 5 in the early stage and 5 in the mid stage and 5 without Alzheimer's. Also, instead of searching for a specific age, try using a range of ages like between ages 50 and 60. This would help gather a range of information and facts for your results.

Comment [12]: Would it not be beneficial to also study people diagnosed with Alzheimer's? I feel like to get a proper comparison it would be helpful to see how just how much someone can remember at certain stages of Alzheimer's and compare that with the other test subjects.

Questions asked Time to respond

Time taken to respond

Was the answer correct?

Was the answer incorrect?

Did answer change throughout any of the 3 rounds?

What did you do prior to coming here?

2 minutes

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

2 minutes

What is your home address? (Street name, twon, state, building number, zip code)

2 minutes

You will be given the names of five animals that you will be asked to repeat in the order they are given: cat, cow, dog, elephant, horse, sheep.

2 minutes

What did you do yesterday morning?

2 minutes

What was the first question we asked?

2 minutes

After the study is conducted and all information is received we will carefully review our

data. We will compare the results from the first round of the study to the third. This will help us

to reach the understanding of the hippocampal activity when affected by Alzheimer’s and when

it isn’t as well as the timing and how long it takes to retain the information. As I’ve stated earlier,

some people tend to have better memories than others, this can also show any significant

differences amongst the hippocampal activity of the 4 people that do not have Alzheimer’s. For

instance why do two people with normal memory, remember things at a different pace.

Conclusion

Our memory is essentially one of our most important tools in life. Almost, if not everything

we do is based off our memory. Our daily routines, such as brushing our teeth, going to school,

to work, eating at specific times are all because we have them stored in an extremely “sacred”

place, that can either make us or break us. It is strange to think how unnoticed the hippocampus

goes when it has such a major job.

Bibliography

Albert, Marilyn S.. “The Ageing Brain: Normal and Abnormal Memory”. Philosophical

Transactions: Biological Sciences 352.1362 (1997): 1703–1709. (Albert, 352: 1703-1709)

Barnes, R. F., Raskind, M. A., Scott, M. and Murphy, C. (1981), Problems of Families Caring for Alzheimer Patients: Use of a Support Group. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 29:

80–85. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1981.tb01233.x

(Barnes, Raskind, Scott, Murphy, 29:80-85)

Comment [13]: Overall I feel that your study is good, but it could use some added information and study stratagies. Along with the above comment of adding more test subjects, and broadening the subjects requirements. I feel like some advanced medical machinery like an EEG or something could be added to the study to see just how the brain is functioning.

Comment [14]: Overall really good job on the paper. In its current state I would give it a "B". Your conclusion seems pretty short though. Perhaps add some conclusion information that you have sound from conducting this assignment?

Comment [15]: I call tell your paper is in MLA format, just make sure this is the right format for your major. For APA or MLA format, your references/works cited page must have hanging indent citations. Also, make sure to change your spacing so everything including your citations in the references/works cited page is double space.

Burns, Alistair, and Steve Iliffe. “Alzheimer's Disease”. BMJ: British Medical Journal 338.7692

(2009): 467–471. Web... (Burns, Alistar, Iliffe, 338:467-471)

Eacott, Madeline J.. “Memory for the Events of Early Childhood”. Current Directions in

Psychological Science 8.2 (1999): 46–49.

(Eacott, 8:46-49)

Fernberger, Samuel W. "How We Remember." The Scientific Monthly 39.00963771 (1934): 56-59. JSTOR. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

(Fernberger, 56-59)

Gaines, Atwood D., and Peter J. Whitehouse. "Building a Mystery: Alzheimer's Disease, Mild

Cognitive Impairment, and Beyond." Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 13.1 (2006): 61-74. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

(Gaines, Whitehouse, 13:61-74)

Hamilton, John. "Brain Cells 'Geotag' Memories To Cache What Happened - And Where." NPR.

NPR, 28 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

(J. Hamilton “Brain Cells Geotag Memories..”)

Hamilton, J. (2015, July 21). Women's Brains Appear More Vulnerable To Alzheimer's Than

Men's. Retrieved March 12, 2016, from http://www.npr.org/sections/health-

shots/2015/07/21/425054345/womens-brains-appear-more-vulnerable-to-alzheimers-than-mens

(J. Hamilton, “Women’s Brains Appear More Vulnerable..”)

Healy, Bernadine. "Pumping The Neurons." U.S. News & World Report 134.23 (2003): 29.

Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2016. (Healy, 134:23)

Neil Burgess: How Your Brain Tells You Where You Are. Dir. Neil Burgess. Perf. Neil Burgess. TED Talks. TEDSalon, Nov. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2016.

(Burgess, TED Talks)

Schuff, N., N. Woerner, L. Boreta, T. Kornfield, L. M. Shaw, J. Q. Trojanowski, P. M. Thompson, C. R. Jack, and M. W. Weiner. "MRI of Hippocampal Volume Loss in Early Alzheimer's Disease in Relation to ApoE Genotype and Biomarkers." Brain 132.4 (2008): 1067-077. Web. 09 Feb. 2016

Wilson, Robert S., and David A. Bennett. “Cognitive Activity and Risk of Alzheimer's Disease”. Current Directions in Psychological Science 12.3 (2003): 87–91. Web..

(Wilson, Bennett, 12:87-89)