As neurobehavioral and psychobiological research
and treatment methods have been applied to the harsh realities of aging,
the fields of neuroscience and neuro-psychology have risen in visibility
and importance. This is the result of their abilities to more
specifically explain the processes of learning, memory, cognition, and
intellectual functioning. Changes in brain functioning are natural
consequences of the aging process. Just as our bodies may slow down
with age, our minds also slow down. We need to expend greater effort to
learn new things, and we find ourselves having more “senior moments,”
where recall is no longer reliable at rapid speed. We become more
easily distractible, and we have a harder time focusing our attention on
more than one task or thought at a time. However, there are significant
differences between normal aging and early neurodegenerative disease in
terms of quality and quantity of change.
As medicine
grows more powerful in its ability to preserve organ function and
continues to extend lifespan, what meaning will these accomplishments
have if we cannot better preserve brain function? To a great extent
memory disorders, including the dementias, pose the greatest medical and
social challenges to the modern world. Spending the final years of life
impaired intellectually, cognitively, and emotionally are ironic rewards
for surviving serious illnesses or preventing diseases and accidents.
Yet, the
very staggering truth is that few seniors are ever adequately examined
for memory problems or dementia when they see their primary care
physicians. The result is that approximately 50% of people with
Alzheimer’s disease never know they are ill until the symptoms have
progressed to a point where the best that can be offered is to slow down
a degenerative process that has already taken a large toll on their
intellectual abilities and caused psychiatric symptoms and disorders.
The Center
for Bio-Behavioral Science is dedicated to the neuropsychological
assessment and treatment of disorders that impair memory, cognitive, and
intellectual function in older adults as well as to those disorders that
impair attention and learning in young and middle aged adults. We can
detect degenerative problems not only in their earliest stages but in
those stages that predate the onset of full blown dementia. For those
suffering from cognitive dysfunction as the result of medication
side-effects or depression, we can help differentiate these conditions
from true dementia. And in the cases of adult attention deficit disorder
we can offer a great deal of help and guidance to people who are
functioning below their intellectual potential and who struggle to
accomplish tasks and organize their lives both at home and at work.
Center for Bio-Behavioral Science, A Medical Corporation, 2080 Century Park East #308,
Los Angeles CA 90067 Podellofcmgr@aol.com,
310-556-0970, 310-5561013 phone • 310-556-1014 fax
