Alzheimer’s Delirium and Dementia Q 2
In clients with a cognitive impairment disorder, the phenomenon of increased confusion in the early evening hours is called:
A. Aphasia.
B. Agnosia.
C. Sundowning.
D. Confabulation.
Correct Answer: C. Sundowning.
Sundowning is a common phenomenon that occurs after daylight hours in a client with a cognitive impairment disorder. The term “sundowning” refers to a state of confusion occurring in the late afternoon and spanning into the night. Sundowning can cause a variety of behaviors, such as confusion, anxiety, aggression, or ignoring directions. Sundowning can also lead to pacing or wandering. Sundowning isn’t a disease, but a group of symptoms that occur at a specific time of the day that may affect people with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The exact cause of this behavior is unknown.
Option A: Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write. Aphasia is always due to injury to the brain-most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals. Aphasia can be so severe as to make communication with the patient almost impossible, or it can be very mild. It may affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to retrieve the names of objects, or the ability to put words together into sentences, or the ability to read. More commonly, however, multiple aspects of communication are impaired, while some channels remain accessible for a limited exchange of information.
Option B: Agnosia is a rare disorder whereby a patient is unable to recognize and identify objects, persons, or sounds using one or more of their senses despite otherwise normally functioning senses. The deficit cannot be explained by memory, attention, language problems, or unfamiliarity to the stimuli. Usually, one of the sensory modalities is affected.
Option D: Confabulation is a type of memory error in which gaps in a person’s memory are unconsciously filled with fabricated, misinterpreted, or distorted information. When someone confabulates, they are confusing things they have imagined with real memories. A person who is confabulating is not lying. They are not making a conscious or intentional attempt to deceive. Rather, they are confident in the truth of their memories even when confronted with contradictory evidence.