1) The Cerebrum

Its function?

Responsible for memory, attention, thoughts, language, consciousness. Also senses and movement.

               How is it affected?

Small protein clumps form in the grey area damaging neurons causing Lewy Body Dementia (LBD). Symptoms include hallucinations and altered consciousness.

2. Frontal Lobe

Its function?

Personality balance, behaviour and emotions, long-term memory storage, distinguishing between similar and different.

How is it affected?

Frontal lobe disease causing dementia, protein clumps on brain cells, inappropriate behaviour, personality changes.

3. Parietal Lobe

Its function?

Helps us put things in order such as reading, writing and calculating numbers, responsible for the senses.

How is it affected?

Due to a rare type of Alzheimer there is an atrophy of neurons, which affects vision.

4. Temporal Lobes and Hippocampus

Its function?

• Helps us make sense of the things we see and hear
• Associated with helping us to remember and recognize faces, objects and sights
• Responsible for language such as helping us name objects and remember words

How is it affected?

• Accumulation of two types of protein: tau and amyloid on brain cells
• They begin to clump in the hippocampus then spread to the rest of the brain causing damage to the neurons and paralyzing the functions of the hippocampus
• This causes early symptoms of Alzheimer, which are memory loss, confusion, difficulties in language and speech, awareness of time and place.

5. Occipital Lobe

Its function?

• Interprets information that reaches the eye.
• Determine shapes, colours, movements for the things that a person looking at.
• Create dreams during sleep

 

How is it affected?

• This part of the brain is affected by a rare type of Alzheimer called: Posterior Cortical Atrophy
• Accumulation of the proteins thus killing the brain cells
• Since this part is responsible for vision, the person finds it difficult to see things and cannot distinguish what and where things are
• One of the characteristics is the accumulation of proteins causing death of brain cells

6. Cerebellum

Its function?

Responsible for controlling movement, balance and posture as well as attention and language

How is it affected?

• The more brain cells die due to Alzheimer or other types of dementia, the worse the symptoms become
• Like other parts of the brain, brain cell damage is caused by the accumulation of amyloid proteins and tau tangles

 

Neurons

The brain contains 90 billion neurons specialized in sending messages to each other and through these processes we are able to feel, interact with and respond to the world around us.

With dementia, neurons lose their ability to communicate with each other and die!

The cause of cell death is the subject of much study and research.

Everyday scientists are discovering new ways of treatment and keeping brain cells from being damaged.

 

Synaptic transmission

Cells consist of a body from which an axon and many dendrites extend to other cells. The point of connection of cells is called synapses.

Cells use electrical and chemical signals to transmit information between them.   

Neurotransmitters

Intact and damaged neurons