Cognitive disturbances can arise from traumatic injuries to the head. This is known as post-concussion syndrome and patients may experience symptoms of headaches, dizziness, memory loss, irritability, mood swings, and insomnia.

The term dementia describes a clinical syndrome characterized by acquired impairment in multiple neuropsychological and behavioral domains including memory, cognition, visuospatial skills, and language. Cognitive disorder specialists agree that dementia is one of the most disabling and costly diseases associated with aging. Dementia can affect different parts of the brain. It can affect the cortex (or outer part) or the subcortex (the inner part). Each has its own, unique characteristics.

Dementia can cause mild cognitive impairment which is, in general, an intermediate stage between normality and dementia. Three subtypes have been described: amnestic, multiple domains, and single non-memory domain impaired. Some patients with mild, cognitive impairment are at risk to convert to Alzheimer’s dementia at a higher rate than the general population.

Everyone is familiar with Alzheimer’s disease which accounts for 65% of the dementias in the U.S. It is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder associated with neuronal cell death as well as gradual deterioration in cognition, activities, daily function, and behavior. Memory deficits are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Other cognitive deficits include difficulty with complex, vasoconstrictive tasks (such as clock drawing), becoming lost in familiar places, and then, later on, becoming disorientated in familiar places. Impairments in executive function occur early in the disease. This is manifested by sight into deficits, difficulty planning more complex tasks, and difficulty managing finances. Patients with early disease may manifest apathy, social withdrawal, or signs of depression. A cognitive disorder specialist will diagnose Alzheimer’s Dementia based on history, physical and neurological examinations as well as neuropsychological criteria.