What’s Happening to Their Brain?

Today’s insight discusses what happens to a loved one with dementia’s brain and gives a couple of visual examples to lessen your frustration with your loved one.

Transcription of video:

Hi, I’m Deb Nygaard with Arthur’s Residential Care with today’s Insights from Arthur’s.

Today I want to talk about the changes in the brain as a person with dementia is declining. And remember again, the term “dementia” is an umbrella term for a lot of different types of dementia.

Alzheimer’s is the most prevalent type of dementia. The brain of somebody who has Alzheimer’s is going to decrease in mass by two-thirds.

I have two bags of rice here to demonstrate my point. This is a three pound bag of rice. It’s about equivalent to the brain of a normal, adult male. By the end of the disease (shows smaller bag) this is how much brain tissue there is left.

This is a fatal disease; the brain is dying. So the other visual I brought here are a couple of frayed wires. When you try to reason with a person with dementia, you’re expecting a connection to work that can’t.

So when you’re in a really tight situation, a really frustrating situation with your loved one, remember, your brain has more mass, ok? You’re the one who has more connective tissue to work with.

Take a deep breath and remember that their brain is dying. They’re doing the very best they can; they can’t try harder, but you can.

I’m Deb Nygaard with Arthur’s Residential Care.

Contact Deb Nygaard

Director of Development
Arthur’s Residential Care: 651-429-4798