Some forgetfulness is normal… then there’s mild cognitive impairment.
You’ve driven home from the mall along the same route for five years. But lately, you’ve been stopping at the same intersection, struggling to remember whether to turn left or right. Many occasions in everyday life can make us question whether memory lapses are normal, a sign of cognitive decline, or even the beginning of dementia.
Our first instinct might be that it’s due to brain deterioration. And it’s true that, like the rest of our body, our brain cells shrink as we age. Unfortunately, they also maintain fewer connections with other neurons and store less of the chemicals needed for sending messages to other neurons. But not all memory lapses are due to age-related changes to our neurons. The influencing factors are often more trivial, including being tired, anxious, or distracted.
Some forgetfulness is normal
Our memory system is constructed in a way that some degree of forgetting is normal. This is not a flaw but a feature. Maintaining memories is not only a drain on our metabolism; too much unnecessary information can slow down or hamper retrieving specific memories. Unfortunately, it’s not always up to us to decide what’s important and should be remembered. Our brain does that for us. Our brain generally prefers social information – the latest gossip, but easily discards abstract information – such as numbers. Memory loss becomes a problem when it affects your typical day-to-day living. It’s not a huge issue if you can’t remember to turn right or left. However, forgetting why you are behind the wheel, where you are meant to be going or even how to drive is not normal. These are signs something may not be right and should be investigated further.
Mild cognitive impairment
The road between age-associated memory loss and the more concerning memory loss is called mild cognitive impairment. The degree of impairment can remain stable, improve, or worsen. However, it indicates an increased risk (around three to five times) of future neurogenerative diseases such as dementia. For people with mild cognitive impairment, the ability to undertake usual activities becomes gradually and more significantly impacted over time. Besides memory loss, it can be accompanied by other problems with language, thinking and decision-making skills.
Losing your way can be an early marker
Impairment in navigation is believed to be an early marker for Alzheimer’s disease, the most common type of dementia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have shown the areas that crucially underpin memories for our spatial environment are the first to be affected by this degenerative disease. So, a noticeable increase in getting lost could be a warning sign of more pronounced and widespread difficulties in the future.
Get help when your memory lapses are consistent
While everyday memory lapses are not something we should unduly worry about, it is prudent to seek professional health care advice, such as from your GP, when those impairments become more marked and consistent. While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, early detection will allow you to plan for the future and more targeted management of the disorder.