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Cognitive Impairment

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WHO DOES IT AFFECT?

 

Over 16 million Americans are affected by cognitive impairment and the highest risk factor is old age.

 

WHAT DOES IT AFFECT?

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  • The ability to remember things or learn new things

  • Trouble concentrating

  • Difficulty making decisions that affect everyday life


People with cognitive impairment may frequently ask the same question or forget people or places. People with severe cognitive impairment may lose their ability to live on their own because of the dangers associated with forgetfulness. Things like not knowing what to do in case of an emergency or forgetting to take (or that you already took) medications.

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HOW SOCIAL INTERACTIONS AFFECT COGNITION

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People are social by nature. Up until recently, people have surrounded themselves in social situations. Now these social interactions have been declining. This decline not only has a negative effect on overall health and well being, but also cognitive function. Studies conducted prove that being socially connected engages people mentally.

    

WAYS TO IMPROVE COGNITION

 

There are two types of therapies: pharmacological and non-pharmacological. We used the non-pharmacological method by using brain-stimulating games in order to rehabilitate their cognitive function.

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  • Training your memory, reasoning skills, and processing are all ways to improve cognition. This also improves the ability to do everyday  functions on a long-term basis.

  • Being Bilingual has also been proven to enhance cognitive control. It can postpone onset of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

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HOW TECHNOLOGY IS USED TO COMBAT COGNITIVE LOSS

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Many similar tools have been created dealing with cognition improvement in elders.

Technologies developed:

Co-Brain Training and AlzGame: also helps eliminate technological gap.

The Brain Fitness Program: improves memory by increasing speed and accuracy of processing of aural information.

  • Elders felt more in control of their lives again.

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References

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Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: consequences for mind and brain. Trends in cognitive sciences, 16(4), 240-250.

 

Bryant, Jerry H., and Alfred Gelhorn. "Cognitive Impairment: A Call for Action Now." SpringerReference (n.d.): n. pag. Web.    

 

Butcher, J. (2008). Cognitive Function: Mind games: do they work?. BMJ: British Medical Journal, 336(7638), 246.

 

Chun-Chen, Chou. "Technology Acceptance and Quality of Life of the Elderly In... : CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing." LWW. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2016.

 

Diamandis, Peter. "Does Tech Improve Your Quality of Life?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.

 

De la Guía, E., Lozano, M. D., & Penichet, V. R. (2013, May). Cognitive rehabilitation based on collaborative and tangible computer games. In 2013 7th International Conference on Pervasive Computing Technologies for Healthcare and Workshops (pp. 389-392). IEEE.

 

Gamberini, L., Raya, M. A., Barresi, G., Fabregat, M., Ibanez, F., & Prontu, L. (2006). Cognition, technology and games for the elderly: An introduction to ELDERGAMES Project. PsychNology Journal, 4(3), 285-308.

 

La Rue, A. (2010). Healthy brain aging: role of cognitive reserve, cognitive stimulation, and cognitive exercises. Clinics in geriatric medicine, 26(1), 99-111.

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Mckee, Kevin, Hossein Matlabi, and Stuart G. Parker. "Older People’s Quality of Life and Role of Home-Based Technology." Health Promotion Perspectives. Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, 2012. Web. 03 Dec. 2016

 

Neves, Barbara Barbosa. "Too Old For Technology? How The Elderly Of Lisbon Use And Perceive ICT | Neves | The Journal of Community Informatics." Too Old For Technology? How The Elderly Of Lisbon Use And Perceive ICT | Neves | The Journal of Community Informatics. University of Lisbon, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2016

 

Nouchi, R., Taki, Y., Takeuchi, H., Hashizume, H., Akitsuki, Y., Shigemune, Y., ... & Kawashima, R. (2012). Brain training game improves executive functions and processing speed in the elderly: a randomized controlled trial.PloS one, 7(1), e29676.

 

Pfeiffer, Rolf. The Business Thinker. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016."Quality of Life Technology Engineering Research Center." N.p., June-July 2014. Web.

 

Rogers, W.A and Mynatt, E.D. (2003). How can technology contribute to the quality of life of older adults? In M.E Mitchell (ED), The technology of humanity. Can technology contribute to the quality of life? (pp. 22-30) Chicago, IL Illinois Institute of Technology


Siebert, Julia. "Technology May Contribute to Elderly People's Quality of Life." Technology May Contribute to Elderly People's Quality of Life - European Federation for Living. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2016.

 

Van Muijden, J., Band, G. P., & Hommel, B. (2012). Online games training aging brains: limited transfer to cognitive control functions. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 6, 141-154

 

Willis, S. L., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Ball, K., Elias, J., Koepke, K. M., … Wright, E. (2006). Long-term Effects of Cognitive Training on Everyday Functional Outcomes in Older Adults. JAMA : The Journal of the American Medical Association, 296(23), 2805–2814. http://doi.org/10.1001/jama.296.23.2805

 

University, Carnegie Mellon. "Impact-Quality of Life Technology Center - Carnegie Mellon University." Impact-Quality of Life Technology Center - Carnegie Mellon University. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2016.

 

Xie, B. "Older Adults, Computers, and the Internet: Future Directions." Gerontechnology 2.4 (2003): n. pag. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bo Xie. Web


Ybarra, O., Burnstein, E., Winkielman, P., Keller, M. C., Manis, M., Chan, E., & Rodriguez, J. (2008). Mental exercising through simple socializing: Social interaction promotes general cognitive functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(2), 248-259.

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