Neuropsychology Services
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Neuropsychology Services
96 W. Main Street, Northboro MA
tele: 508-393-3820
fax: 508-792-0687
NEUROPSYCHOLOGY_SERVICES@YAHOO.COM
There are many types of memory. Each different type of memory is processed by specific brain system. Different diseases of the brain will cause different types of memory loss depending on where in the brain the injury has occurred.
As a general rule, memory from long ago is deeply buried in the brain and is resistant to disease. On the other hand, the ability to make new memories, and short-term memory in general, is very sensitive to brain injury. Below we will discuss why.
The good news is that there can be recovery from an injury in CA1. This recovery is slow, but occurs when new brain fibers sprout and grow into an alternate pathway into the hippocampus. This process is known as brain "plasticity", as the brain literally can reshape itself to promote some self healing and recovery.
A number of other diseases cause short term memory loss. Virtually all of them, however, impair the circuitry of the hippocampus by one means or another. I've provided a rather technical diagram below of how various different diseases can alter memory neuroanatomy and thus affect memory functions.
Neuropsychological testing is helpful in multiple ways for people with memory loss.
1. First, it can be very hard for physicians, family members, or patients to be sure if there is any "real" memory loss. For example, people who are worried about having early Alzheimer's disease often are not sure if their memory problems are due to their age or due to a disease. Neuropsychological testing can answer this question.
2. Others, such as people who had a brain injury years ago, may wonder if their memory and brain has healed from the accident and, if so, how much recovery they have had.
3. Yet others wonder if they can still function at their job. A nurse who has multiple sclerosis, a policeman or policewoman who has Hungtington's disease, etc., may wonder if they still should be working. Neuropsychological testing can help answer these questions.
4. When individuals are applying for disability, Neuropsychological testing can offer objective evidence that can support disability claims.
Finally there are many other conditions that simulate, or worsen, memory loss. Certain medicines can actually cause memory impairment. Psychological conditions such as depression or anxiety disorders can often cause people to have problems remembering. And other conditions, such as ADHD, can impair memory. In each case, Neuropsychological evaluations by a competent Neuropsychologist can determine the cause of the memory loss and lead to new ways to try and intervene to improve it.
UNDERSTANDING MEMORY LOSS AND THE ROLE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING PLAYS
[Dr. Deckel lectured on memory, memory loss and memory systems for over 2 decades at the University of Connecticut Health Center and the University of Dentistry and Medicine of N.J. He is availble, by appointment, for Neuropsychological evaluations and to provide individual consultations for people with memory deficits. Below are some brief excerpts from portions of his lecture on memory.]
Memory Loss
The above pictures come from a study done some years ago by a scientific group in Italy. They placed taxi cab drivers in a sophisticated machine called a PET scan and first asked them to watch a movie about a taxi route. As they "remembered" this picture, a very specific region in the brain became activated, shown above, in yellow, in picture "a". They then were asked to remember this route by memory, shown in part "b" above. Again the same region of the brain was activated. This particular region of the brain is called the "hippocampus". It was called this because, to ancient anatomists, it looked like a "seahorse" (the latin word for seahorse is hippocampus, thus the name.)
The hippocampus is exquisitively sensitive to brain damage of any kind. The reason for this is technical, but generally relates to the concept that brain injury that causes a hypoxia, or reduction in oxygen, and hypoxia damages the hippocampus. Virtually any cause of brain damage---stroke, heart attack, traumatic brain injury, infections, tumors, and many others---cause an injury to the hippocampus. Thus impairment of short term memory is frequently caused by all of these diseases.
The hippocampus is exquisitively sensitive to brain damage of any kind. The reason for this is technical, but generally relates to the concept that brain injury that causes a hypoxia, or reduction in oxygen, and hypoxia damages the hippocampus. Virtually any cause of brain damage---stroke, heart attack, traumatic brain injury, infections, tumors, and many others---cause an injury to the hippocampus. Thus impairment of short term memory is frequently caused by all of these diseases.
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Memory, Memory Loss, and Memory Evaluations
