“I Am Just an Ordinary Person …”: Spiritual Reminiscence in Older People with Memory Loss

This conceptual article will consider Sue Jennings’ neuro-dramatic-play (NDP) as an overall theoretical framework for working with older people with dementia. NDP was developed over a number of years by pioneering UK drama therapist Sue Jennings. It is a culmination of attachment-based play, drama, movement and storytelling, and arts-based approaches that are used within drama therapy and other play and creative-based work with children. The author will consider from a personal and reflective perspective how NDP approaches can be adapted by drama therapists to work with older people with memory loss based on almost 30-years history of being involved in the field of drama therapy as a student and practioner, and his work with older people, at both the beginning of his career and his current reflections many years later.

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Role of MicroRNA Genes miR-1000 and miR-375 in Forming Olfactory Conditional Memory in Drosophila melanogaster

MicroRNA ◽

10.2174/2211536609666200204113403 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 09 ◽

Author(s):

Sadniman Rahman ◽

Chaity Modak ◽

Mousumi Akter ◽

Mohammad Shamimul Alam

Keyword(s):

Learning And Memory ◽

Short Term Memory ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Memory Formation ◽

Neural Integration ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Locomotion Speed ◽

Microrna Genes ◽

With Memory

Background: Learning and memory is basic aspects in neurogenetics as most of the neurological disorders start with dementia or memory loss. Several genes associated with memory formation have been discovered. MicroRNA genes miR-1000 and miR-375 were reported to be associated with neural integration and glucose homeostasis in some insects and vertebrates. However, neuronal function of these genes is yet to be established in D. melanogaster. Objective: Possible role of miR-1000 and miR-375 in learning and memory formation in this fly has been explored in the present study. Methods: Both appetitive and aversive olfactory conditional learning were tested in the miR-1000 and miR-375 knockout (KO) strains and compared with wild one. Five days old third instar larvae were trained by allowing them to be associated with an odor with reward (fructose) or punishment (salt). Then, the larvae were tested to calculate their preferences to the odor trained with. Learning index (LI) values and larval locomotion speed were calculated for all strains. Results: No significant difference was observed for larval locomotion speed in mutant strains. Knockout strain of miR-1000 showed significant deficiency in both appetitive and aversive memory formation whereas miR-375 KO strain showed a significantly lower response only in appetitive one. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate important role played by these two genes in forming short-term memory in D. melanogaster.

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Many caregivers of persons with memory loss or Alzheimer's disease are unaware of the abilities of their persons with AD to recall their drugs and medical histories

Dementia ◽

10.1177/1471301218820969 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 147130121882096

Author(s):

Thomas A Ala ◽

GaToya Simpson ◽

Marshall T Holland ◽

Vajeeha Tabassum ◽

Maithili Deshpande ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Alzheimer's Disease ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Medical Histories ◽

With Memory

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Culturally safe dementia care: Building nursing capacity to care for First Nation Elders with memory loss

International Journal of Older People Nursing ◽

10.1111/opn.12395 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wendy Hulko ◽

Mary Star Mahara ◽

Danielle Wilson ◽

Gwen Campbell‐McArthur

Keyword(s):

Memory Loss ◽

Dementia Care ◽

First Nation ◽

With Memory

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Narrating a Valley in Max Frisch’s Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän: Material Agency, Rain, and the Geologic Past

Humanities ◽

10.3390/h10010043 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 43

Author(s):

Kiley M. Kost

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Careful Consideration ◽

Temporal Scale ◽

Careful Examination ◽

Embodied Experience ◽

Material Ecocriticism ◽

Material Agency ◽

With Memory

The complex narrative composition of image and text in Max Frisch’s Der Mensch erscheint im Holozän discloses entanglements between humans and nonhuman entities that impact the narrative and that demand careful consideration. The story depicts the aging protagonist’s struggle with memory loss and his careful examination of the valley’s mountain formations in fear of a landslide. In this analysis, I show that both of these threats can be read as entangled with nonhuman agents. By focusing on the material dimension of the text, two central and related shifts occur: the background element of rain becomes foregrounded in the narrative, and the natural formations of the valley that are assumed to be static are revealed to be dynamic. These shifts lead to an interpretation of Frisch’s text focused on the impacts of rain and the temporal scale of the text’s geologic dimension. Approaching the text through the lens of material ecocriticism unveils the multiple agencies at play, decenters the human, and illustrates the embodied experience of climate change.

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New Frontiers in Caregiving Research: Biopsychosocial Perspectives and Interventions

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2086 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 615-615

Author(s):

Jyoti Savla ◽

Karen Roberto ◽

Mamta Sapra

Keyword(s):

Family Caregivers ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Well Being ◽

Psychoeducational Intervention ◽

Loved One ◽

Daily Diary Study ◽

Physiological Processes ◽

And Coping ◽

With Memory ◽

Health And Well Being

Abstract Although families embrace the opportunity to care for a loved one, caregiving is stressful and takes a toll on the caregiver’s health and well-being. Earlier studies of stress and coping among family caregivers focused on psychological outcomes and emotional well-being. In the last decade, stress researchers have broadened their focus to include biomarkers and health outcomes. Data from two studies of caregivers of persons with memory loss will be used to discuss two new frontiers of caregiving research. First, a daily-diary study will be used to identify the mechanism by which stress disrupts the physiological processes and proliferates into serious psychopathology and pre-clinical and clinical health conditions. Second, a mindfulness-based psychoeducational intervention study will be utilized to identify malleable factors that can be harnessed to lower stress and improve the well-being of family caregivers. Next steps for caregiving research in the context of demographic and technological trends will be discussed.

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Threats to Health and Well-Being Perceived by Older People in Poland and Portugal

Acta Médica Portuguesa ◽

10.20344/amp.9613 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (7-8) ◽

pp. 409 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Maria da Piedade Moreira Brandão ◽

Laura Martins ◽

Marlena Szewczyczak ◽

Dorota Talarska ◽

Ian Philp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Older Persons ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Bodily Pain ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Joint Project ◽

Health And Well Being

Introduction: According to the OECD, Portugal and Poland rank below average in several well-being measures such as income and wealth, and health status. Investigating how people perceive the threats to health in these two countries, is an important issue to address priority needs. To meet this need, the objective of this paper was to compare the perceptions of the threats to the health and well-being among the Polish and Portuguese older persons and explore differences between the countries in respect of patterns of self-rated health.Material and Methods: A Cross-sectional study with two convenience samples from primary health care services of Poland and Portugal was conducted; 480 adults aged 65 and over (247 Portuguese) were included. The EASYCare standard assessment of 2010 was applied under a joint project of both countries. The association between ‘self-rated unhealthy’ and socio-demographic and threats to health variables was examined using logistic regression.Results: In both countries about two thirds of the older persons self-rated their health as unhealthy. Having more than enough finances was associated with a significant lower odds of being unhealthy compared with those without enough finances at the end of the month (Portugal: OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.63; Poland: OR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.88). Visual problems, bodily pain, memory loss, feeling bored or lonely and reporting shortness of breath during normal activities was consistently associated with fair or poor self-rated health.Discussion: These findings provide important information regarding the health profile of older people which can help in the development of people-centred health systems where their lives and well-being can be improved. Conclusion: The unhealthy perception of older people was consistently associated with indicators of major health threats.

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Communicating through music: creating accessible songs for Individuals with memory loss

10.32920/ryerson.14654508.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hallie Anthony

Keyword(s):

Verbal Memory ◽

Memory Loss ◽

Research Process ◽

Future Research ◽

Human Communication ◽

Information Retention ◽

Scholarly Literature ◽

Musical Compositions ◽

Original Musical ◽

With Memory

This Major Research Paper (MRP) is a research-creation project that explores the role, impact and influence of music n human communication. More specifically, this MRP investigates the way that music can assist in cognitive comprehension and information retention in individuals with varied forms of memory loss and considers the ways that music can be used to assist in aiding verbal memory and communicating emotion. It also offers insight on methods that could be utilized to further study this area of research. As a research-creation project, this MRP includes three original musical compositions (Composition A1, Composition B2, and Composition C3) that were developed in response to the scholarly literature on this topic. The three musical compositions that have been produced for this project aim to communicate emotion, create aesthetic satisfaction, and aid in reinforcing the production of memories based on the information presented in the compositions. The composition creation process was informed by information gathered throughout the research process that addresses topics such as: the influence of music on individual listeners, emotion in music, and musical techniques that can be used to successfully communicate ideas. Beyond the scope of this MRP/research-creation project, these compositions aim to serve as a basis for testing cognitive function in individuals with varied forms of memory loss. Detailed discussion of the design of the musical compositions, including information related to the composition influences, and a breakdown of each composition are included alongside the MRP’s focus on scholarly literature and research. Furthermore, the potential implications of these compositions, including the ways they could assist in future research, is discussed.

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