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Forgetfulness does not always signal dementia, brain researcher says
Sometimes, it’s just a matter of being distracted
Updated:
key insights:
- Misplacing keys or forgetting a name does not, by itself, mean a person has dementia, neuroscientist Dr. Tommy Wood says.
- Stress, fatigue, and poor attention can make it harder to remember everyday details.
- Memory changes that persist, worsen, or interfere with daily life deserve a medical evaluation.
Forgetting where you put your keys can be unsettling, especially if you are worried about dementia. But an occasional lapse may say more about how tired or distracted you were than about the health of your brain.
“For most people, it’s just because you’re stressed or you’re tired and weren’t paying attention,” Dr. Tommy Wood, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, told Fox News Digital in an interview at the Strong New York fitness and wellness festival.
Dr. Wood said remembering begins with paying attention. If a person is preoccupied when putting down their keys or hearing a new name, they may have trouble recalling those details later. He also distinguished that kind of lapse from a more serious difficulty forming new memories.
His comments offer reassurance about common slips, but they are not a way to diagnose the cause of an individual’s symptoms.
Seniors group concurs
The National Institute on Aging makes a similar distinction. Occasionally losing keys or forgetting an appointment can be part of normal aging.
More serious memory problems, however, may have several causes, including medication side effects, depression, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia. Some causes can be treated.
The key question is how much the change affects daily life. Repeatedly forgetting recently learned information, struggling with familiar tasks, or becoming confused in familiar places is more concerning than briefly drawing a blank on a name. The Alzheimer’s Association says memory loss that disrupts daily life is a warning sign that should be discussed with a doctor.
Dr. Wood suggested that noticing a lapse can be reassuring, since some people with a neurodegenerative disease may not recognize their own difficulties. Still, noticing a problem does not rule out dementia.
Anyone who sees a persistent or worsening change in memory or thinking should seek an evaluation, particularly if family members have noticed it too. A clinician can review medications and health conditions and determine whether further testing is needed.