Memory can be defined as an organism’s ability to encode, retain, and recall information. Disorders of memory are all a result of damage to neuroanatomical structures (either in part or in full) and can range from mild to severe. This damage hinders the storage, retention and recollection of memories.
Almost everyone has a lapse of memory from time to time. You can’t remember where you parked your car or can’t remember someone’s name. This is normal. But when memory loss interferes with work performance, social activities and other daily tasks, you may need medical care.
Memory disorders can severely disrupt your life. They can be progressive, including Alzheimer’s disease, or they can be immediate including disorders resulting from head injury. Hundreds of disorders can cause memory loss or dementia. Memory loss may be due to conditions such as:
- Small strokes in the brain
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Reactions to medications
- Alcoholism
- Depression
Memory disorders include:
- Agnosia
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Amnesia
- Corticobasal degeneration
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- Frontotemporal dementia
- Hyperthymestic syndrome
- Huntington’s disease
- Lewy body dementia
- Mild cognitive impairment
- Parkinson’s disease
- Progressive supranuclear palsy
- Vascular dementia
- Wernicke-Korsakoff’s syndrome
Treatments vary by disease and their level of progression.