Clinical Psychology @ Ashoka University Class Blog

 Elvina Ann Charly Dementia is a group of symptoms that involve acquired and gradual impairments in cognition, memory, behaviour and emotion. Dementia is not an inevitable consequence of biological ageing, though ageing is the greatest risk factor for it. Conditions such as Alzheimer's come under the classifications of dementia, as per DSM-V. As dementia progresses, patients become increasingly dependent on others and need care in all aspects of daily living. Globally, the incidence rates for Dementia and Alzheimer’s are increasing at an exponential rate. Estimates show that 74.4 million people in 2030 and 131.5 million in 2050 will develop dementia, with the numbers doubling every 20 years (Prince et al., 2015, p.22). This is alarming as effective treatment is difficult after the early stages of the disease and infrastructure for care and management is insufficient.  Prevention thus becomes ever-important. Consequently, one of the seven principles of the World Health Organisa...

 Maanya Agarwal Still Alice (2014) is a drama film that follows the life of a linguistics professor named Alice who is diagnosed with Familial Alzheimers Disease at 50 years old. The movie follows Alice as she navigates her disease along with her husband and three children and the profound effect it has on her identity. This movie shows a raw and meaningful look into living with such a disorder and leaves one with a realistic depiction of the symptoms. This article breaks down the portrayal of Familial Alzheimers, the experience of dealing with it as well as the impact on its audience.  Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurologic disorder which is the most common cause of dementia - a continuous decline in thinking, behavioural and social skills that affect a person's ability to function independently (Mayo Clinic, 2022). The disease disrupts normal cell function in the brain and eventually leads to cell death (Mayo Clinic, 2022). Most people start experiencing sympt...

Harieshwar Vetri One of our most impressive cognitive abilities is learning and remembering new things. Humans are thought to be the only beings capable of scientific learning, the ability to relate events that are separated by an interval of 60 seconds or more (Davis, 1986). If we were to lose this ability, would we lose a part of who we were? Almost certainly. Amnesia causes people to lose their ability to learn and retain new information while also affecting their memory to varying degrees ( Amnesia - Symptoms and Causes , 2022). Amnesia from trauma is often temporary, in time the individuals will be able to recover from this and regain all of their cognitive functions ( Amnesia - Symptoms and Causes , 2022). Nonetheless, they will have to deal with this loss of function for that period and there are, unfortunately, no treatments or interventions that can speed up this process. Fortunately, there is evidence that shows that there is some retention, or at the very least recovery, of ...

  Khyaati Tapadia      Fatal Attraction Syndrome is a term coined by Randy and Lori Sansone in 2010 in their article that analyses the prevalence of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) in stalkers. The article summarises five studies in the niche and finds that in “less forensically focused” samples, a higher number of stalkers can be diagnosed with BPD (R. Sansone & L. Sansone, 2010). Stalking, by the authors, is operationally defined as “an illogical or irrational preoccupation” with another individual. The name of the syndrome stems from the popular culture icon in the 1980s, Alex Forrest, who pioneered the hot-date-gone-crazy trope in the movie Fatal Attraction (1987).  Fatal Attraction (1987) is a movie about Alex Forrest, who stalks her one-night stand and shows a fear of abandonment, impulsivity and aggressive behaviour. Extreme physical harm to others is depicted when Alex boils the date’s rabbit and attempts to knife his wife. In a scene, Alex sl...

Dementia is a very common symptom of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by a loss of memory, language, and other problem-solving abilities ("What is dementia?," n.d.). This results in a steep decline in cognitive functioning, largely due to neurological deterioration. Some of the most common causes of dementia include Alzheimer’s, Vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia and other old-age onset diseases ("What is dementia?," n.d.). However, while dementia is generally seen in older populations as neuronal degradation, it can be found among children as well. Childhood dementia refers to a group of over 100 rare conditions characterized by neurodegenerative properties (Djafar et al., 2022). These conditions not only cause the waning of skills and memory, but are often associated with shorter life expectancy (Djafar et al., 2022). Considering that despite being rare, one in 2800 children develop childhood dementia (Childhood Dementia Initiative, 2020), and a lack of...

  Amnesia is kind of a disorder in which individuals lose their memories. The memories could have occurred as events and could have been acquired as experiences in the past for a second,  minutes, or months (Ratini, 2021). People suffering from this disorder are unable to recall these memories. The brain plays a crucial role because any part of the brain is related to memory. And damage or injury of any parts of the brain may affect memory . However, there are other causes of memory loss which include head injury, stroke, lack of sufficient oxygen supply to the brain, and being involved in alcohol consumption for a long time may cause amnesia (Ratini, 2021). ‘Tere Naam’ is an Indian Hindi-language film, directed by Sathish Kaushik in 2003. The case of amnesia is well presented in the film.  The protagonists of the film are Salman Khan as Radhe Mohan and Bhumika Chawla as Nirjara Bhardwaj. The film was a romantic tragedy based on a real-life incident story. Radhe was a po...

  Boxing has been popular throughout history due to its brutal nature. Injuries are a part of the sport but rarely do brain injuries result in persistent neurological impairment (Lovell et al., 2004). The number of boxing-related fatalities is low, with an estimated 0.13 deaths per 1,000 participants annually (American Medical Association, 1983), which is similar to other high-risk sports. The majority of boxers do not suffer from severe, irreversible neurological impairments, but a correlation has been found between a boxer's overall fight count and the onset of neurologic, mental, or histopathological encephalopathy signs and symptoms ( Casson et al., 1984; Drew et al., 1986; Jordan et al., 1997) . This paper seeks to inform readers about the potential neuropsychological effects of boxing through second impact syndrome, neurological impairments, post-concussion syndrome, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.  Second Impact Syndrome (SIS) occurs when an athlete sustains a ...