Download or read book Dementia A Very Short Introduction written by Kathleen Taylor and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-07-23 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As more of us live longer, the fear of an old age devastated by brain diseases like dementia is growing. Many people are already facing the challenges posed by these progressive and terminal conditions, whether in person or because they are caring for loved ones. Dementia is now the fifth most common cause of death across the world. It is small wonder that understanding, preventing, and finally curing these illnesses is now a global priority. Recent advances in brain research have given scientists a better chance than ever of finding ways to help patients, carers, and clinicians dealing with dementia. Yet there is still no effective treatment. Why has progress been so slow? And what can we all do to reduce our chances of getting the disease? In this Very Short Introduction Kathleen Taylor offers a guide to the science of dementia and brain ageing. Never forgetting the human costs of brain disorders - movingly illustrated throughout the book - she also discusses their costs to society. Clearly explaining the research, she sets out the main ideas which have driven dementia science, and the new contenders hoping to make a breakthrough. Taylor also looks at risk factors, and how to lower our chances of succumbing to dementia. Assessing current and potential treatments, including both drugs and other approaches, she explains, clearly and gently, what help is available for someone who is diagnosed with dementia, and how to boost the chances of living well with the condition. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Ageing written by Nancy A. Pachana and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ageing entails lifelong dynamic changes in biological, psychological, and social functioning. While such changes in later adulthood were somewhat neglected by scientists in the past, recent decades have seen a marked increase in research in this area. Nancy A. Pachana examines the impact of rising numbers of older people worldwide.
Download or read book Memory A Very Short Introduction written by Jonathan K. Foster and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Why can we sometimes remember events from our childhood as if they happened yesterday, but not what we did last week? How are memories stored in the brain, and how does our memory change as we age? What happens when our memory goes wrong, and how easy is it for others to manipulate our memories?" "This fascinating Very Short Introduction brings together the latest research in psychology and neuroscience to address these and many other important questions about the science of memory - revealing how our memory works, why we couldn't live without it, and even how we may learn to remember more."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Ageing A Very Short Introduction written by Nancy A. Pachana and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ageing is an activity we are familiar with from an early age. In our younger years upcoming birthdays are anticipated with an excitement that somewhat diminishes as the years progress. As we grow older we are bombarded with advice on ways to overcome, thwart, resist, and, on the rare occasion, embrace, one's ageing. Have all human beings from the various historical epochs and cultures viewed aging with this same ambivalence? In this Very Short Introduction Nancy A. Pachana discusses the lifelong dynamic changes in biological, psychological, and social functioning involved in ageing. Increased lifespans in the developed and the developing world have created an urgent need to find ways to enhance our functioning and well-being in the later decades of life, and this need is reflected in policies and action plans addressing our ageing populations from the World Health Organization and the United Nations. Looking to the future, Pachana considers advancements in the provision for our ageing populations, including revolutionary models of nursing home care such as Green House nursing homes in the USA and Small Group Living homes in the Netherlands. She shows that understanding the process of ageing is not only important for individuals, but also for societies and nations, if the full potential of those entering later life is to be realised. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Medical Ethics A Very Short Introduction written by Michael Dunn and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-15 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue of medical ethics, from thorny moral questions such as euthanasia and the morality of killing to political questions such as the fair distribution of health care resources, is rarely out of today's media. This area of ethics covers a wide range of issues, from mental health to reproductive medicine, as well as including management issues such as resource allocation, and has proven to hold enduring interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This Very Short Introduction provides an invaluable tool with which to think about the ethical values that lie at the heart of medicine. This new edition explores the ethical reasoning we can use to approach medical ethics, introducing the most important 'tools' of ethical reasoning, and discussing how argument, thought experiments, and intuition can be combined in the consideration of medical ethics. Considering its practical application, Tony Hope and Michael Dunn explore how medical ethics supports health professionals through the growing use of ethics expertise in clinical settings. They also contemplate the increasingly important place of medical ethics in the wider social context, particularly in this age of globalization, not only in healthcare practice, but also policy, discussions in the media, pressure group and activism settings, and in legal judgments. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Sleep A Very Short Introduction written by Steven W. Lockley and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-22 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores sleep disorders, describes breakthroughs in the study of sleep, and considers the impact of modern society on it.
Download or read book Navigating Life with Dementia written by James M. Noble and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Since you have opened this book, you or a close friend or family member have likely been impacted by the upsetting and frightening diagnosis of dementia. You may have been told about this diagnosis in a number of different ways. Either the term dementia was used, or other words associated with or more specific than dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Lewy Body disease, frontotemporal dementia, or Pick's disease, were used. You may even have been misinformed at first and told that you were simply facing the normal changes of aging, such as forgetfulness or mild depression. Sometimes these terms are relatable based on others we know who have been affected by them. But they can be shocking to hear and hard to understand when talking about yourself or a loved one. Even more difficult is that none of the most common forms of dementia currently have treatments that can cure or slow the disease"--
Download or read book Schizophrenia A Very Short Introduction written by Chris Frith and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2003-05-22 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Schizophrenia is the archetypal form of madness. Schizophrenia is a common disorder and has a devastating effect on sufferers and their families-patients typically hear voices in their heads and hold bizarre beliefs. The schizophrenic patient presented to the public in sensational press reports and lurid films bears little resemblance to reality of the illness. This book describes what schizophrenia is really like, how the illness progresses, and the treatments that have been applied. It also summarizes the most up-to-date knowledge available about the biological bases of this disorder. Finally it attempts to give some idea of what it is like to have schizophrenia and what this disorder tells us about the relationship between mind and brain. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Molecular Biology A Very Short Introduction written by Aysha Divan and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-08-18 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Molecular Biology is the story of the molecules of life, their relationships, and how these interactions are controlled. It is an expanding field in life sciences, and its applications are wide and growing. We can now harness the power of molecular biology to treat diseases, solve crimes, map human history, and produce genetically modified organisms and crops, and these applications have sparked a multitude of fascinating legal and ethical debates. In this Very Short Introduction, Aysha Divan and Janice Royds examine the history, present, and future of Molecular Biology. Starting with the building blocks established by Darwin, Wallace and Mendel, and the discovery of the structure of DNA in 1953, they consider the wide range of applications for Molecular Biology today, including the development of new drugs, and forensic science. They also look forward to two key areas of evolving research such as personalised medicine and synthetic biology. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Madness A Very Short Introduction written by Andrew Scull and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2011-08-25 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Madness is something that frightens and fascinates us all. It is a word with which we are universally familiar, and a condition that haunts the human imagination. Through the centuries, in poetry and in prose, in drama and in the visual arts, its depredations are on display for all to see. A whole industry has grown up, devoted to its management and suppression. Madness profoundly disturbs our common sense assumptions; threatens the social order, both symbolically and practically; creates almost unbearable disruptions in the texture of daily living; and turns our experience and our expectations upside down. Lunacy, insanity, psychosis, mental illness - whatever term we prefer, its referents are disturbances of reason, the passions, and human action that frighten, create chaos, and yet sometimes amuse; that mark a gulf between the common sense reality most of us embrace, and the discordant version some humans appear to experience. Social responses to madness, our interpretations of what madness is, and our notions of what is to be done about it have varied remarkably over the centuries. In this Very Short Introduction, Andrew Scull provides a provocative and entertaining examination of the social, cultural, medical, and artistic responses to mental disturbance across more than two millennia, concluding with some observations on the contemporary accounts of mental illness. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Keeping Busy written by James R. Dowling and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 1995-05-01 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although very little can be done to alter the course of dementia, much can be done to maximize the quality of life of people with the condition. Research as well as practical experience suggest that behavior management, especially through programs that provide meaningful and constructive activity, is currently the most effective treatment. In Keeping Busy, James Dowling describes a variety of activities designed to bring meaning and enjoyment to the lives of persons with dementia. The activities are organized by general categories such as music, exercise, horticulture, pets, humor, and social events. The largest section deals with communication and includes word games that help people strengthen their remaining verbal skills. The description of each activity includes step-by-step instructions, as well as tips on how to adapt it for small or large groups, for individuals at home or in an organization, or people who are bedridden.
Download or read book Neurodegeneration written by Dennis Dickson and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-09-09 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most textbooks on neurodegenerative disorders have used a classification scheme based upon either clinical syndromes or anatomical distribution of the pathology. In contrast, this book looks to the future and uses a classification based upon molecular mechanisms, rather than clinical or anatomical boundaries. Major advances in molecular genetics and the application of biochemical and immunocytochemical techniques to neurodegenerative disorders have generated this new approach. Throughout most of the current volume, diseases are clustered according to the proteins that accumulate within cells (e.g. tau, α-synuclein and TDP-43) and in the extracellular compartments (e.g. β-amyloid and prion proteins) or according to a shared pathogenetic mechanism, such as trinucleotide repeats, that are a feature of specific genetic disorders. Chapters throughout the book conform to a standard lay-out for ease of access by the reader and are written by a panel of International Experts Since the first edition of this book, major advances have been made in the discovery of common molecular mechanisms between many neurodegenerative diseases most notably in the frontotemporal lobar degenerations (FTLD) and motor neuron disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This book will be essential reading for clinicians, neuropathologists and basic neuroscientists who require the firm up-to-date knowledge of mechanisms, diagnostic pathology and genetics of Neurodegenerative diseases that is required for progress in therapy and management.
Download or read book The Fragile Brain written by Kathleen Taylor and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-11-17 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neurodegenerative diseases, such as a stroke, Alzheimer's and dementia, are now tragically commonplace within the western world. Our brains are a strange and complex organ, and there is much to be discovered about what causes them to fail in such devastating ways. In this book Kathleen Taylor presents the ever-developing research into the cause and cure of these life-changing conditions, focusing on insights arising from the relatively new field of neuroimmunology - the increasing recognition of the important role of the immune system in the brain. Interweaving the latest scientific ideas on neurodegenerative diseases with accounts of the devastation which illnesses affecting the brain can cause to sufferers and to anyone who cares about them, The Fragile Brain is not only an important account of current research in this field, but a very personal study. As instances of dementia rise in our ageing populations, many harbour anxieties concerning the future.This book is about knowing the enemy.
Download or read book Psychiatry A Very Short Introduction written by Tom Burns and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychiatry is an endlessly controversial endeavour, incorporating emotively-charged questions over the reality of mental illness, the medicalization of everyday life, and the role of nature versus nurture which cause constant discussion today, and on which almost everyone has an opinion. In this Very Short Introduction Tom Burns explores the nature of psychiatry, focusing on what it can and cannot do, and discussing why its history has been beset by dramatic shifts in emphasis and types of treatment. Considering the main disorders that have shaped its practice (such as schizophrenia and manic depression), he analyses how it differs from (and overlaps with) psychology and psychotherapy. Many of the controversies arise from its dual origin 200 years ago and the separate development of psychiatry with a more 'medical' approach in the asylums, rather than the psychological approach which birthed psychoanalysis and various forms of psychotherapy. Discussing philosophical issues of psychiatry's legitimacy, Burns explores the mistakes psychiatry has made and the blind alleys in its history, before looking forward to the likely changes in its practice with the coming of artificial intelligence and virtual reality. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Cognitive Neuroscience A Very Short Introduction written by Richard Passingham and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-09-15 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Up to the 1960s, psychology was deeply under the influence of behaviourism, which focused on stimuli and responses, and regarded consideration of what may happen in the mind as unapproachable scientifically. This began to change with the devising of methods to try to tap into what was going on in the 'black box' of the mind, and the development of 'cognitive psychology'. With the study of patients who had suffered brain damage or injury to limited parts of the brain, outlines of brain components and processes began to take shape, and by the end of the 1970s, a new science, cognitive neuroscience, was born. But it was with the development of ways of accessing activation of the working brain using imaging techniques such as PET and fMRI that cognitive neuroscience came into its own, as a science cutting across psychology and neuroscience, with strong connections to philosophy of mind. Experiments involving subjects in scanners while doing various tasks, thinking, problem solving, and remembering are shedding light on the brain processes involved. The research is exciting and new, and often makes media headlines. But there is much misunderstanding about what brain imaging tells us, and the interpretation of studies on cognition. In this Very Short Introduction Richard Passingham, a distinguished cognitive neuroscientist, gives a provocative and exciting account of the nature and scope of this relatively new field, and the techniques available to us, focusing on investigation of the human brain. He explains what brain imaging shows, pointing out common misconceptions, and gives a brief overview of the different aspects of human cognition: perceiving, attending, remembering, reasoning, deciding, and acting. Passingham concludes with a discussion of the exciting advances that may lie ahead. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Download or read book Madness A Very Short Introduction written by Andrew Scull and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-08-25 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Andrew Scull examines the social, historical, and culturally variable response to madness over the centuries, providing a provocative and entertaining examination of mental illness over more than two millennia."--P. [2] of cover.
Download or read book Depression A Very Short Introduction written by Mary Jane Tacchi and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-01-19 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is depression? What is bipolar disorder? How are they diagnosed and how are they treated? Can a small child be diagnosed with depression and treated with antidepressants - and should they be? Covering depression, manic depression, and bipolar disorder, this Very Short Introduction gives a brief account of the history of these concepts, before focussing on the descriptions and understanding of these disorders today. Jan Scott and Mary Jane Tacchi look at the introduction of modern treatments for people suffering from depression, recounting the stories behind the development and introduction of antidepressants and mood stabilizers. They examine the symptoms and signs of the different disorders, as well as the association between physical disorders and depression. Exploring the importance of depression and bipolar disorder in society, they also look at the link between creativity and mood disorders. Scott and Tacchi conclude by discussing treatments and the future for those with depression. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
