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The Ageing Brain and Risk of Dementia - Coggle Diagram
The Ageing Brain and Risk of Dementia
What is the architecture of the brain?
The brain is characterized in several different ways from structural features to regions of activity and into specific cell types.
This helps to breakdown an incredibly complex system into smaller areas of focus.
Grey Matter (40%)
Cell bodies, short dendrites, processing, nuclei give colour, consumes 94% if oxygen.
White Matter (60%)
Connecting long dendrites and axons of the brain and spinal cord, myelin sheath.
Regions of the Brain
Cerebrum
Largest part of the brain
Right and left hemispheres.
Higher functions (touch, vision and hearing, speech, reasoning, emotions, learning and find control of movement).
Cerebellum
Under the cerebrum
Coordinate muscle movements, maintain posture, and balance.
Brainstem
Relay centre connecting the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord.
Automatic functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, wake and sleep cycles, digestion, sneezing, coughing, vomiting, and swallowing.
Major regions of the Cerebrum
Brodmann Areas
52 regions of the Cerebrum distinguished by microscopic anatomy through the shapes and types of cells and their connections.
Cell Types of the Brain
(Penney et al., 2020)
The brain consists of different cell types and subclasses of those cells.
Each cell type will perform key functions that integrate and overlap with others, including shared metabolism.
Still discovering some of the roles of each brain cell.
Gila
Was thought to hold the brain together.
Astrocytes
are now known to shape the brains' function.
The Metabolic Cost of the Human Brain
(Watts et al., 2018)
Through evolution, the brain has become a hugely complex and diverse structure that consumes over
20%
of oxygen metabolism despite being a small fraction of total body mass.
Temporal and spatial regulation
down to the single synapse level.
Maintaining synapse potential following depolarization uses significant proportion of energy.
Disruption of oxygen metabolism and mitochondrial function are consistent pathological features of various age-related
neurodegenerative diseases
associated with cognitive decline.
Brain Development vs. Growth
(Kuzawa et al., 2014)
Humans as a species have
prolonged childhood
. In this time, we grow relatively slowly.
1 throw for this is the
energetic trade-off
between brain development and growth.
44-87% of resting metabolic rate can come from the brain in childhood.
The slowest periods of growth correspond to the periods of highest energy consumption in the brain.
Alzheimer's Disease
'A progressive mental deterioration that can occur in middle or old age, due to generalized degeneration of the brain. It is the most common cause of premature senility.'
Diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease
Patient history taken by GP
How and when symptoms started - do they affect daily living?
Pre-existing conditions
Medicine or supplements taken
Mental Ability Tests
Short- and long-term memory
Concentration and attention span.
Language and communication skills
Awareness of time and place (orientation)