Possible essay question for PYC 4813: Cognitive Neuroscience
Qs: Mrs Z has been told that she has Alzheimer’s disease, and her family has approached
you to explain what this means, and the effect that this could have on her cognition.
Write out a presentation to them in which you explain the causes and consequences
of Alzheimer’s disease from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Describe two
cognitive and two motor symptoms that Mrs Z is likely to experience as a result of
the disease:
Ans: Causes:
o According to Kalat, (2016) Alzheimer’s disease is related to deposition of Amyloid-B
protein in the brain, the accumulating amyloid leads to abnormalities of the TAU-
protein causing additional difficulties- A gene linked to many cases of early-onset
Alzheimer’s disease and two more genes found by researchers linked to early onset
Alzheimer’s;
o The genes controlling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease cause a protein called Amyloid
B to accumulate both inside and outside neurons; the effect is to damage dendrite
spines, decrease synaptic input and decrease plasticity;
o As amyloid damages axons and dendrites the damaged structures cluster into
structures called plaques, as the plaques accumulate the cerebral cortex, hippocampus
and other areas atrophy;
o In addition to amyloid-B, a second problem relates to the TAU Protein in the
intracellular support structure of axons, high levels of Amyloid-B cause more
phosphate groups to attach to TAU- protein;
o The altered TAU cannot bind to its usual targets within axons and so it starts
spreading into the cell body and dendrites; the attack of TAU from within dendrites
adds to the attack by amyloid-B, magnifying the damage;
o Researchers hypothesized that altered tau also increases the production of Amyloid-B
causing a vicious cycle, the altered TAU is principally responsible for tangles-
structures formed from degeneration within neurons (Kalat, 2016)
Qs: Mrs Z has been told that she has Alzheimer’s disease, and her family has approached
you to explain what this means, and the effect that this could have on her cognition.
Write out a presentation to them in which you explain the causes and consequences
of Alzheimer’s disease from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Describe two
cognitive and two motor symptoms that Mrs Z is likely to experience as a result of
the disease:
Ans: Causes:
o According to Kalat, (2016) Alzheimer’s disease is related to deposition of Amyloid-B
protein in the brain, the accumulating amyloid leads to abnormalities of the TAU-
protein causing additional difficulties- A gene linked to many cases of early-onset
Alzheimer’s disease and two more genes found by researchers linked to early onset
Alzheimer’s;
o The genes controlling early-onset Alzheimer’s disease cause a protein called Amyloid
B to accumulate both inside and outside neurons; the effect is to damage dendrite
spines, decrease synaptic input and decrease plasticity;
o As amyloid damages axons and dendrites the damaged structures cluster into
structures called plaques, as the plaques accumulate the cerebral cortex, hippocampus
and other areas atrophy;
o In addition to amyloid-B, a second problem relates to the TAU Protein in the
intracellular support structure of axons, high levels of Amyloid-B cause more
phosphate groups to attach to TAU- protein;
o The altered TAU cannot bind to its usual targets within axons and so it starts
spreading into the cell body and dendrites; the attack of TAU from within dendrites
adds to the attack by amyloid-B, magnifying the damage;
o Researchers hypothesized that altered tau also increases the production of Amyloid-B
causing a vicious cycle, the altered TAU is principally responsible for tangles-
structures formed from degeneration within neurons (Kalat, 2016)
