Hi Chris 100 I think “Sarasa” gave a good explanation with the {road way being blocked } I can remember my Consultant telling me a similar thing to imagen the information in my brain travelling a group of say 10 telephone wires but in my case 2 wires were broken so it had reroute through the remaining 8 wires as for education well I was borne at beginning of WW2 when time were hard so from an early age I was working in the fields School wasn’t important back then I left school aged 15 but from age of 8 only attended school 50% of the time so not much education but that doesn’t mean I hadn’t learnt anything of course I can only assume that it was similar for most 80+ year olds to day , when I was asked a question by Consultant I couldn’t answer I would turn tables and soy Ok Dr ****. let me ask you a few questions obviously he couldn’t answerer mine eitherInteresting you should talk about being well-educated. One post indicated that people who are better-educated do well on 1st visit to Memory Clinic on the Addison ( ? ) test.
It would be interesting to know across the range of Dementia patients whether education is equally represented. Sounds harsh but is there data?
Thanks. Good point.iHi Chris 100 I think “Sarasa” gave a good explanation with the {road way being blocked } I can remember my Consultant telling me a similar thing to imagen the information in my brain travelling a group of say 10 telephone wires but in my case 2 wires were broken so it had reroute through the remaining 8 wires as for education well I was borne at beginning of WW2 when time were hard so from an early age I was working in the fields School wasn’t important back then I left school aged 15 but from age of 8 only attended school 50% of the time so not much education but that doesn’t mean I hadn’t learnt anything of course I can only assume that it was similar for most 80+ year olds to day , when I was asked a question by Consultant I couldn’t answer I would turn tables and soy Ok Dr ****. let me ask you a few questions obviously he couldn’t answerer mine either
I’ve heard it explained that your brain is like a series of road networks. On a road if the way is blocked you can find a way round by using a different route. If you are somewhere with few roads that is going to be more tricky. The same with the brain. If your education means you have more neural pathways you can find a way round a blockage at least for a while. I think having an advanced education also means you tend to try an work things through in a more logical manner.
My mum and my mother in law are both 93 and both have advanced dementia. They are also both intelligent women. A few years back it was obvious that mil was managing better at coping with her decline in cognition than my mum. That was partly due to their very different personalities but also I felt to mil having been educated to PHD level whereas mum had about three years formal education.