Memory Disorders Flashcards
Does subject complaint predict memory performance?
Not necessarily, but may pre-date formal deficits in some cases of dementia
Define memory
Processes used to acquire, store, retain, and retrieve information
What often accompanies profound anterograde amnesia?
Retrograde amnesia; eg: post traumatic amnesia
What is short-term memory?
Immediate memory
What is working memory?
Manipulation of immediate memory
How can immediate memory be measured?
Digit span
What is long-term memory?
Storing info over mins, hrs, years for later retrieval
How can long-term memory be measured?
List learning retrieval
What type of memory does anterograde amnesia affect: short-term or long-term?
Long-term
What are the types of declarative memory?
Episodic
Semantic
What are the types of non-declarative memory?
Skills and habits
Classical conditioning
What is procedural memory?
Long-term, implicit memory
Skill acquisition
What type of memory often breaks down: declarative or non-declarative?
Declarative
What is episodic memory?
Autobiographical - events in personal context
What is semantic memory?
General facts not specified to individual
Not contextual
What is the structure of declarative memory?
Hippocampus
Entorhinal cortex
Perirhinal cortex
What is the entorhinal cortex?
Gateway into hippocampus
Where does disease progression affecting declarative memory often start?
Entorhinal cortex
What does the perirhinal cortex do?
Linked to object knowledge and recognition
What does the parahippocampal region do?
Involved in spatial memory
What does damage to the parahippocampal region cause?
Getting lost
What does damage to different parts of the hippocampus cause?
Slightly different presentations of memory loss
What is the dentate gyrus on the hippocampus responsible for?
Pattern recognition
What is CA1 in the hippocampus very susceptible to?
Hypoxic injury
What is the left hippocampus more lateralised to do?
Verbal memory
- List learning
- Paired associate learning
- Story recall
What is the right hippocampus more lateralised to do?
Non-verbal memory
- Visuo-spatial associations
- Face recall
What are some causes of memory impairment?
Degenerative disorders
Cerebrovascular disorders
Paroxysmal/transient disorders
Surgical resection
What are the episodic memory structures in the midline?
Anterior thalamus Basal forebrain Mesial temporal region Mammillary bodies Retrosplenial cortex
What is transient global amnesia?
Anterograde amnesia for
What precipitates transient global amnesia?
Several, including
- Sexual intercourse
- Immersion in cold water
- Emotional stress
Is there a disruption to self-identity in transient global amnesia?
No
What is the underlying cause of transient global amnesia?
Unknown
What is the most common cause of dementia?
Alzheimer’s disease
When does Alzheimer’s disease usually start?
Over 65
What is mild cognitive impairment?
Subclinical
Transition phase between normal ageing and dementia
What are the clinical signs of mild cognitive impairment?
Self-reported memory complaint
Objective memory impairment
Unaffected general cognitive functioning
Normal capacity to perform activities of daily living
What are early memory complaints in mild cognitive impairments?
Name-face association: “What’s his name?”
Object-place association: “Where did I leave my glasses?”
