Have you ever been surprised that you forgot for a while what you were doing, or what you ate just now, or who you were going to call when you answered the phone, or other things that we may sometimes forget for a few moments as if they were erased from our memories !
Sometimes, or perhaps in many daily life events, one may wonder whether memory lapses are normal, or are they a sign of cognitive decline or are the early stages of dementia.
For example, a person may use the lift to get to his home for many years, and one day he stands confused in front of the plaque trying to remember which floor he will go up to! Or another person has been using a specific route to get home from work every day for years and once stops suddenly trying to remember whether to turn right or left!
Brain cells shrink
According to a report prepared by Oliver Bowman, Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences of the School of Psychology at Bond University and Cindy Jones, and published by the website Scientific alarmInstinctively, your first answer might be that it happens because the brain deteriorates, and like the rest of the body, brain cells shrink with age. They also maintain fewer connections with other nerve cells and store fewer chemicals needed to send messages to other nerve cells.
But not all memory lapses are caused by age-related changes in the neurons of the human brain. In many cases, there are less significant factors temporarily affecting memory such as fatigue, anxiety, or distractibility.
Expressive
normal thing
Bowman says it has been scientifically proven that the structure of the human memory system works in such a way that it is natural to forget to a certain extent, which is actually a plus rather than a minus. Holding on to all the memories and details can drain your metabolism, and accumulating too much unnecessary information can slow down or hinder the recovery of certain memories. It remains that the ability to decide what is important and to remember is critically unavailable, because the brain generally prefers social information and ignores abstract information such as numbers in particular.
Memory loss becomes a problem when it starts affecting your normal daily life. It is not a big problem if the person does not remember turning right or left, but forgetting that they are driving the car or how to drive then there is an abnormal condition, and attention should be paid to the need for urgent medical attention.
The path between aging-associated memory loss and more troubling amnesia has been formulated as mild cognitive impairment. The degree of vulnerability can remain stable, improve or worsen. But it indicates a three- to five-fold increased risk of future neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, that about 10 to 15 percent of people with mild cognitive impairment develop dementia each year.
Expressive
Language and decision making
Bowman explains that for people with mild cognitive impairment, the ability to perform normal activities is affected more gradually over time. In addition to memory loss, it can be accompanied by other problems with speech, thinking and decision-making skills.
A diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment can be a double-edged sword. It confirms the fears of the elderly that their amnesia is abnormal. It also raises fears that he develops dementia. But it can also lead to exploring potential treatments and planning for the future.
early sign
Bowman points out that a decline in the ability to remember routes, routes and addresses (the way home or the place of work) is thought to be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common type of dementia. MRI studies have shown that regions that critically support memories of the space environment are the first to be affected by this degenerative disease. Therefore, a marked increase in the incidence of not remembering the route or getting lost on the way could be a warning sign of more evident and widespread difficulties in the future.
Given the predictive association between declines in route and address recall and dementia, there is an incentive to develop and use standardized tests to detect deficiencies as early as possible.
Currently, the scientific literature outlines several approaches, ranging from pen-and-paper and virtual reality testing, to real-life navigation, but there is no definitively proven standard yet.
ask for help
Bowman concludes that while daily memory lapses shouldn’t lead to unnecessary worry, it would be wise to seek the advice of a GP or specialist when they become more frequent or more noticeable and persistent.
Although there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, early diagnosis will allow for advance planning and more targeted management of the problem and reduce its risks.
