NR547 WEEK 6 EXAM QUESTIONS AND
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS 2025
Neurocognitive disorders
delirium and dementia
Dementia
-a group of symptoms that mainly affects memory, cognition and
social interactions, and the ability to do everyday tasks.
-Symptoms start gradually often with no clear beginning, and are
usually permanent.
-Most dementias are caused by neurodegenerative diseases,
most commonly Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and
frontotemporal dementia
• clumps of abnormal proteins to build up inside neurons,
damaging them, and causing them to slowly degenerate and die
-vascular dementia is another common cause of progressive
dementia
• brain damage occurs when the blood supply to the neurons is
reduced or blocked, again causing them to malfunction or die
-Cognitive Symptoms: Difficulty with complex tasks, Difficulty
planning and organizing, Loss of coordination
,-Psychological symptoms: Personality changes, Inappropriate
behaviour, Paranoia, Fear, anxiety, anger or depression.
Delirium
ACUTE SUDDEN CHANGE IN MENTAL STATE
-typically begins suddenly with a noticeable start point.
-mainly affects attention, and often resolves after a few days or
weeks, although it can last longer.
-acute, transient, and usually reversible brain malfunction
-thought to be brought on by multiple neurotransmitter
imbalances
Delirium symptoms
-Cognitive Symptoms: Rambling or nonsense speech, Difficulty
reading and writing, Wandering attention, Becoming easily
distracted, Becoming withdrawn,
-Psychological symptoms: Inability to focus, Reduced awareness
of the environment, Disturbed sleep
-May have hallucinations
-symptoms can fluctuate throughout the day
,causes of delirium
-lack of oxygen
-drugs
• anticholinergics
• psychoactives
• opioids
-withdrawal
• delirium tremens
-stressful situations
-dehydration & electrolyte imbalance
infections
tell the difference between delirium and dementia
onset
attention
do symptoms fluctuate?
, Alzheimer's disease
-type of dementia
• 60-80% of dementias
-neurodegenerative disease
-Hallmarks:
• plaques - abnormal protein (beta-amyloid plaques) between
neurons
• tangles - tau protein inside neurons (neurofibrillary tangles)
Alzheimer's disease brain progression
-Plaques & tangles usually start forming and spread from the
cortex
• earliest areas affected temporal lobe (learning & memory)
• as it spreads goes to frontal lobe (thinking & planning)
• then more temporal (speaking & communicating)
• then parietal lobe (sense of where body is in relation to objects
around you)
• severe & late Alzheimer's disease, plaques & tangles spread
throughout most of cortex, brain shrinks (atrophy) dramatically
VERIFIED CORRECT ANSWERS 2025
Neurocognitive disorders
delirium and dementia
Dementia
-a group of symptoms that mainly affects memory, cognition and
social interactions, and the ability to do everyday tasks.
-Symptoms start gradually often with no clear beginning, and are
usually permanent.
-Most dementias are caused by neurodegenerative diseases,
most commonly Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia and
frontotemporal dementia
• clumps of abnormal proteins to build up inside neurons,
damaging them, and causing them to slowly degenerate and die
-vascular dementia is another common cause of progressive
dementia
• brain damage occurs when the blood supply to the neurons is
reduced or blocked, again causing them to malfunction or die
-Cognitive Symptoms: Difficulty with complex tasks, Difficulty
planning and organizing, Loss of coordination
,-Psychological symptoms: Personality changes, Inappropriate
behaviour, Paranoia, Fear, anxiety, anger or depression.
Delirium
ACUTE SUDDEN CHANGE IN MENTAL STATE
-typically begins suddenly with a noticeable start point.
-mainly affects attention, and often resolves after a few days or
weeks, although it can last longer.
-acute, transient, and usually reversible brain malfunction
-thought to be brought on by multiple neurotransmitter
imbalances
Delirium symptoms
-Cognitive Symptoms: Rambling or nonsense speech, Difficulty
reading and writing, Wandering attention, Becoming easily
distracted, Becoming withdrawn,
-Psychological symptoms: Inability to focus, Reduced awareness
of the environment, Disturbed sleep
-May have hallucinations
-symptoms can fluctuate throughout the day
,causes of delirium
-lack of oxygen
-drugs
• anticholinergics
• psychoactives
• opioids
-withdrawal
• delirium tremens
-stressful situations
-dehydration & electrolyte imbalance
infections
tell the difference between delirium and dementia
onset
attention
do symptoms fluctuate?
, Alzheimer's disease
-type of dementia
• 60-80% of dementias
-neurodegenerative disease
-Hallmarks:
• plaques - abnormal protein (beta-amyloid plaques) between
neurons
• tangles - tau protein inside neurons (neurofibrillary tangles)
Alzheimer's disease brain progression
-Plaques & tangles usually start forming and spread from the
cortex
• earliest areas affected temporal lobe (learning & memory)
• as it spreads goes to frontal lobe (thinking & planning)
• then more temporal (speaking & communicating)
• then parietal lobe (sense of where body is in relation to objects
around you)
• severe & late Alzheimer's disease, plaques & tangles spread
throughout most of cortex, brain shrinks (atrophy) dramatically
