Behavioral Intervention Strategies for Sleep-Activity Disruption

1996 ◽  
Vol 8 (S1) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenna A. Dowling
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Intervention ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Research Community ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Institutional Environments ◽  
Research Opportunities ◽  
Rapid Advance

The purpose of this article is to discuss one of the key behavioral scientific problems facing the Alzheimer's disease (AD) research community: sleep-activity rhythm disruption. Research opportunities in this area have the potential for a significant positive impact on the management of AD in the home and in various institutional environments. Barriers that impede timely implementation of programs of research in this area, suggestions for overcoming these barriers, and resources needed to facilitate the rapid advance of research are also discussed.

scholarly journals Effects of High-Frequency Cranial Electrostimulation on the Rest-Activity Rhythm and Salivary Cortisol in Alzheimer’s Disease

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Scherder ◽  
Dirk Knol ◽  
Marie-Jose van Tol ◽  
Eus van Someren ◽  
Jan-Berend Deijen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Rest Activity

scholarly journals Effects of Low-Frequency Cranial Electrostimulation on the Rest-Activity Rhythm and Salivary Cortisol in Alzheimer's Disease

2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Scherder ◽  
Dirk Knol ◽  
Eus van Someren ◽  
Jan-Berend Deijen ◽  
Rob Binnekade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Alternative Research ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Rest Activity

Objective. In previous studies, cranial electrostimulation (CES) had positive effects on sleep in depressed patients and in patients with vascular dementia. The present study examined the effects of low-frequency CES on the rest-activity rhythm and cortisol levels of patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method. It was hypothesised that a decreased level of cortisol would parallel a positive effect of low-frequency CES on nocturnal restlessness. Sixteen AD patients were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 8) or a control group (n = 8). The experimental group was treated with CES, whereas the control group received sham stimulation, for 30 minutes a day, during 6 weeks. The rest-activity rhythm was assessed by actigraphy. Cortisol was measured repeatedly in the saliva throughout the day by means of salivette tubes. Results. Low-frequency CES did not improve the rest-activity rhythm in AD patients. Moreover, both groups showed an increase instead of a decrease in the level of cortisol. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that low-frequency CES has no positive effect on the rest-activity rhythm in AD patients. An alternative research design with high-frequency CES in AD is discussed.

Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengxuan Qiu ◽  
Laura Fratiglioni
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Risk Factors ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Global Epidemic ◽  
Dementia Syndrome

This chapter provides a brief overview concerning the global epidemic, risk and protective factors, and possible intervention strategies of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, which is projected to reach global epidemic level in three to four decades, already has a huge economic and societal impact. Epidemiologic research has provided sufficient evidence supporting that lifestyle or cardiovascular risk factors in middle-aged and older adults play a critical role in the onset and progression of late-life dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, whereas active engagement in mental, social, and physical activities may postpone the onset of the dementing disorders. The community intervention studies are warranted to determine to what extent intervention strategies towards control of major lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors and related vascular disorders as well as maintenance of an active lifestyle may help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia syndrome.

Impact of Auditory-Visual Bimodality on Lexical Retrieval in Alzheimer's Disease Patients

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 348-359
Author(s):  
Isabelle Simoes Loureiro ◽  
Laurent Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Lexical Retrieval ◽  
Visual Modality ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Stage 1

The aim of this study was to generalize the positive impact of auditory-visual bimodality on lexical retrieval in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. In practice, the naming skills of healthy elderly persons improve when additional sensory signals are included. The hypothesis of this study was that the same influence would be observable in AD patients. Sixty elderly patients separated into three groups (healthy subjects, stage 1 AD patients, and stage 2 AD patients) were tested with a battery of naming tasks comprising three different modalities: a visual modality, an auditory modality, and a visual and auditory modality (bimodality). Our results reveal the positive influence of bimodality on the accuracy with which bimodal items are named (when compared with unimodal items) and their latency (when compared with unimodal auditory items). These results suggest that multisensory enrichment can improve lexical retrieval in AD patients.

scholarly journals Zoo Therapy for Alzheimer’s Disease with Real-Time Speech Instruction and Neurofeedback System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Ai ◽  
Hamdi Ben Abdessalem ◽  
Claude Frasson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Animal Therapy ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
Emotional Value ◽  
The Impact

There is an increasing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Negative emotions are not only one of the symptoms of AD, but also the accelerator of the disease. Animal therapy can have a positive impact on the negative emotions of patients, but it has strict requirements for both environments and animals. In this study, we aim to explore the effectiveness of using virtual animals and their impact on the reduction of patients’ negative emotions to improve the user’s cognitive functions. This approach has been implemented in the Zoo Therapy project, which presents an immersive 3D virtual reality animal environment, where the impact on the patient’s emotion is measured in real-time by using electroencephalography (EEG). In addition to creating highly realistic virtual animals, the innovation of Zoo Therapy is also in its communication mechanism as it implements bidirectional human-computer interaction supported by 3 interaction methods: 3D buttons, speech instruction, and Neurofeedback. Patients can actively interact with virtual animals through 3D buttons or speech instructions. The Neurofeedback system will guide the animal to actively interact with the patients according to their real-time emotional changes to reduce their negative emotions. Experiments and preliminary results show that it is possible to interact with virtual animals in Zoo Therapy, and the Neurofeedback system can intervene in Zoo VR environment when the emotional value goes down and might reduce patients’ negative emotions.

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