The Neurobiology of Everyday Life

1. MARCOS DA SILVA FRANCO
Final project to harnessing the course
Understanding the Brain: Neurobiology of
Everyday Life of the University of Chicago.
DISEASE ALZHEIMER
São Paulo - 2014

2. I chose this topic because my mother had
this disease. She lived six years after start
the symptoms firsts. Passed for all the
stages of the Alzheimer up to compromise
completely the brain. Died of respiratory
failure.

3. Alzheimer is a disease neurodegenerative
of unknown cause that occurs in peoples of
age. According the intensity of the frame
degenerative there is three clinical stages:
mild, moderate or severe that will
lead brain atrophy.

4. 1º Stage: mild
In this first stage the
affected area is prefrontal
cortex, responsible for
storing the temporary
memory. All the others
areas of the brain are
preserved, actives.

5. 2º Stage - Moderate
The memory loss is progressive. At this stage
already reached the hippocampus and the person
starts to forget things that happened years ago. The
degenerative framework extends and begins to
compromise motor functions that are performed by
the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, and cerebellum
preventing the person to perform daily activities,
such as, bathing, brushing teeth, get changed,
always needing someone to help you. Other brain
areas, temporal and occipital lobes still are
preserved and actives.

6. Hippocampus Frontal lobe

7. 3º Stage - Severe
In this phase, considered advanced, my
mother already did not remembered more of
the sons, already did not recognize. The
brain areas are nearly all commited. Have
not control over the esfícteres, change in
sleeping and waking, and was totally
dependent on sons to perform daily routine.
Until when control of his breathing was
compromised (the brainstem), preventing
oxygenation throughout the body, she died.

8. Tronco cerebral

9. As this course has allowed me to better
analyze the events and phenomena of
our day to day
The course was very interesting. For ten weeks of
studies that have given me ideas and
understandings of how our brain works in our day to
day. Understanding the anatomy of the human brain,
the electrical impulses transmitted by neurons and
the importance of blood flow in the brain were key so
I could understand the disease that took my mother's
death, Alzheimer's.

10. My three children have myopia, a disease
inherited by the family of my wife, because
she also had myopia when child. During the
lessons learned about this disease and I
could understand what actually occurs in the
visual system related to the nervous system.

11. The nervous system is of utmost importance
in our lives. In order to have a healthy and
active life we need to keep this system in
order, remembering that it consumes a very
significant amount of glucose, nutrition is
essential for their maintenance.

12. Last week was addressed a topic that I am
passionate about it, the excitement!
Understand how it works and be able to
better manage our emotions is fascinating.
For me it was a privilege to be part of this
study group.

13. Congratulations to Professor Peggy Mason
for their work and congratulations also to the
whole team involved, directly or indirectly by
provide us students worldwide a quality
education.

14. Bibliografia
MASON, Peggy. Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of
Everyday Life – The University of Chicago.
VARELLA, Drauzio. Doença de Alzheimer. http://drauzio varella.
com.br/envelhecimento/doenca-de-alzheimer. Acesso em 25
mai 2014.
LENT, Roberto. Cem bilhões de neurônios? Conceitos
Fundamentais de Neurociências. 2º ed. Rio de janeiro. Editora
Atheneu, 2010.