What part of the brain gets Alzheimers disease?
Any part of the brain can become diseased; however, for most people, the part of the brain that affects memory and emotion (the limbic system) is affected early. • Q: What happens in the brain? A: The brain is made up of billions of nerve cells, constantly communicating with one another through chemical messengers that carry messages back and forth between the cells. This chemical messaging is disrupted in people with Alzheimer’s disease, especially in areas of the brain that are vital to memory and other mental abilities. One of the most important chemical messengers is called acetylcholine (pronounced a-set-al-ko-leen). People with Alzheimer’s disease have a reduced supply of acetylcholine in their brain. Over time, brain cells die off in the person with Alzheimer’s disease, and the brain begins to shrink. At the same time, the brain cells die and form plaques and tangles of altered protein. These plaques and tangles block the transmission of messages between brain cells.
