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Sep 30, 2024 · These deep grooves are like the main highways in the brain’s roadmap, essential for understanding its organization and function. First up is the longitudinal fissure, the brain’s great divide. This deep groove separates the two cerebral hemispheres, running from front to back like a canyon splitting the brain in two.
Learn about brain fissures: understand their definition, characteristics, and types. Explore how these anatomical features contribute to brain function and complexity.
Sep 10, 2024 · Memory disorders occur when a person experiences damage to the brain that changes their ability to make and recall memories. They can be caused by physical and mental health conditions, are typically long-term, and are often progressive.
Memory dysfunction can be caused by a diverse group of neurologic disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, strokes, tumors, head trauma, hypoxia, cardiac surgery, malnutrition, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, and medication effects. 1, 2 Memory function can also be altered by normal aging. 3 Although once t...
- Andrew E. Budson
- 10.1097/NRL.0b013e318188040d
- 2009
- 2009/03
- Overview
- What is a memory disorder?
- What are the types of memory disorders?
- What are the symptoms of memory disorders?
- What causes memory disorders?
- How are memory disorders diagnosed?
- What is the treatment for memory disorders?
- Can you prevent memory disorders?
- What’s the outlook for people with memory disorders?
- Frequently asked questions
Memory disorders change your ability to make and recall memories. They can be caused by physical and mental health conditions, traumas, injuries, substances, or medications. Some last a few minutes. Others last a lifetime.
Memory is among the most powerful and important brain functions. It enables you to recall your life’s most meaningful experiences. And it makes it possible for you to check off the simplest items on your to-do list every day.
A memory disorder is any change in your brain structures that interferes with your ability to make, keep, or recall memories. The term “memory disorder” doesn’t usually refer to day-to-day forgetfulness. It generally means memory loss that keeps you from functioning safely and effectively.
Memory disorders are often classified according to how long they last. Memory loss could be:
•temporary, such as the kind of amnesia a person experiences after a mild brain injury
•permanent, such as memory loss that follows a stroke
•progressive, such as the gradual memory loss associated with dementia
Memory disorders can also be classified according to what you can’t remember. Examples include:
•People with retrograde amnesia have trouble remembering what happened immediately before the event that caused memory loss. For example, people who have a car accident sometimes can’t recall the seconds just before and after impact.
The symptoms of memory disorders vary depending on what’s causing the disorder. People with a memory disorder may have trouble:
•recalling events, facts, words, or details
•remembering the steps of a process
•forming new memories or learning new information
•recognizing routes, places, or people
•expressing their thoughts through speech or writing
Reversible causes
You may be able to reverse memory loss if it developed from one of these causes: •Medication: Taking some medications (on their own or with other medications) can affect your memory. •Mental health conditions: Anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions can make it harder for you to remember things. •Alcohol: Drinking too much alcohol can lead to “blackout” — the inability to remember blocks of time. People with alcohol use disorder can also develop memory impairments. •Brain injury: Concussions, brain bleeds, swelling, skull fractures, and other injuries can cause memory loss that may be reversible as the injury heals. •Sleep disturbance: Sleep plays an important role in storing and organizing memories. Sleep difficulties, including sleep apnea, have been linked to a higher risk for dementia and Alzheimer’s. •Infections: Some viruses, such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and West Nile virus, can cause memory difficulties. Bacterial infections, including urinary tract infections and pneumonia, can also cause delirium and memory loss. •Low levels of vitamin B12: Low levels of this nutrient can cause problems with memory and other thinking skills.
Nonreversible causes
Memory loss can sometimes be permanent, or may become worse with time, when it’s caused by conditions like these: •Severe brain injury: Repeated concussions and serious injuries that damage the nerves, tissues, and blood supply to the brain can also cause long lasting or permanent memory loss. •Stroke: Depending on where in the brain a stroke occurs, it can sometimes lead to memory decline. The risk of dementia is up to 50 times higher for those who have had a stroke in the previous year. •Dementia: Vascular dementia, Lewy-body dementia, and frontotemporal dementia cause memory loss that worsens over time. •Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.
Health professionals use a variety of tools to help them diagnose memory disorders. Your doctor or health professional may ask questions about your symptoms to find out when memory loss started and how it’s affecting your life. You may be asked to take a cognitive test to pinpoint which memory skills are being affected.
You may need a physical examination or lab tests to show whether a health condition is behind the memory disorder.
It’s also possible that you’ll have a brain scan, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT). Imaging studies like these can show any areas of the brain that may have been damaged.
You may need to see a specialist, such as a neurologist, who specializes in brain function.
Treatment for a memory disorder depends on what’s causing it. In some cases, treating the underlying health condition is enough to restore your ability to remember.
There are not yet any treatments that can reverse Alzheimer’s or dementia, but some treatments can help with symptoms.
•Medication: Cholinesterase inhibitors can help with memory functions. Over time, these drugs are likely to stop working as well for memory disorders that are progressive.
•Occupational therapy: An occupational therapist can help you create routines to make your day-to-day life easier.
•Speech therapy: A speech-language pathologist can help you develop memory, learning, and language skills.
•Reminiscence therapy: A reminiscence therapist can work with you to remember the events of your life using photos, music, movies, and other aids.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends these strategies for preventing brain injuries:
•Wear your seatbelt when traveling in a car.
•Use protective gear such as helmets when you’re doing an activity where there’s a risk of head injury.
•Minimize the tripping or falling hazards in your environment.
To lower your risk of dementia, the CDC recommends that you:
•exercise regularly
If a memory disorder stems from a treatable condition, or if it results from a mild head injury, recovery may be possible.
If the memory centers in the brain have been more severely injured, memory loss may be permanent. And if a memory disorder is the result of dementia, it’s likely that memory loss will become more severe over time.
Can you prevent a memory disorder by playing brain games?
Brain games can improve your mood and stimulate your mind. They may help build thinking skills and slow memory loss if you already have dementia. Right now, there’s not enough evidence to say that playing games can prevent a memory disorder.
Is dementia hereditary?
Genes that raise your risk of dementia can run in families. Even so, only one type of dementia is passed down directly: Familial Alzheimer’s disease, which represents about 20% of all Alzheimer’s cases.
Can taking vitamins help to prevent a memory disorder?
A recent study showed that older adults who took a multivitamin daily had improved memory after three years. B-complex vitamins have been shown to delay or prevent cognitive decline.
Apr 13, 2023 · Examples of the symptoms of a brain injury include: vomiting. nausea. speech difficulty. bleeding from the ear. numbness. headaches. paralysis. memory loss.
People also ask
What are brain fissures?
What is the difference between a sulcus and a fissure?
What is a sulcus in the brain?
What is a memory disorder?
Why are the frontal lobes involved in episodic memory?
What happens if a patient loses the procedural memory system?
Sep 19, 2023 · The surface of the brain, known as the cerebral cortex, is very uneven, characterized by a distinctive pattern of folds or bumps, known as gyri (singular: gyrus), and grooves, known as sulci (singular: sulcus). These gyri and sulci form important landmarks that allow us to separate the brain into functional centers.
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