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Everyday memory lapses, like misplaced keys or forgotten names, are often overinterpreted as early signs of dementia, but neuroscience experts say actual early cognitive changes may be reversible if treated quickly.
Dr. Tommy Wood, a professor of pediatrics and neuroscience at the University of Washington, said minor forgetfulness is often caused by fatigue or stress rather than the beginnings of a neurodegenerative disease.
“For most people, it’s just because you’re stressed or tired and you’re not paying attention to it,” Wood told Fox News Digital at Strong New York, the city’s largest annual fitness and wellness festival.
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“If you want to remember something… you have to actually focus, pay attention. You have to tell your brain that it’s important to remember.”
Understanding Memory Loss
Wood said that memory formation works in three stages: encoding (forming a memory), consolidation (storing it), and retrieval (accessing it).
Cognitive changes during aging are not inevitable, and adopting proactive lifestyle measures early can help maintain or even restore brain function. (iStock)
When a person is stressed or sleep deprived, the problem is usually retrieval, he said: The memory exists in the brain, but the individual has difficulty accessing it in the moment.
In contrast, people with neurodegenerative disease often fail to encode memory.
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“They don’t even remember or notice that anything is happening,” Wood said. “If you notice something is wrong, that’s usually a good sign.”
Avoidable risk factors and reversibility
Dementia is clinically defined as the loss of cognitive functions severe enough to impair an individual’s ability to manage daily life independently. Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia account for 70 to 90 percent of cases, and many people show signs of both.
Research indicates that at least 50% of dementia cases can be prevented by changing lifestyle and health risk factors.
True memory problems arise from a failure to encode new memories in the brain, whereas stress-related forgetting is simply a problem retrieving existing memories. (iStock)
Major preventable risk factors include heart and metabolic health problems, as well as hearing and vision loss.
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Wood pointed out that addressing physical health issues — like getting hearing aids or having cataract surgery — directly reduces the risk of cognitive decline.
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“If you expect a decline, you’re not going to do the things that will prevent the decline from happening,” Wood told Fox News Digital. “Believing that it’s possible means that you will actually engage in these processes and through that you can prevent a lot of this decline.”
Minor memory loss, such as forgetting keys or names, is usually caused by stress or fatigue rather than early-onset dementia, the expert said. (iStock)
Wood’s emphasis on reversible causes of cognitive symptoms aligns with advice from the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic, which note that several treatable medical conditions can mimic early symptoms of dementia or contribute to subjective cognitive decline.
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Common reversible causes include the following.
- Vitamin deficiencies: Low levels of vitamin B12 or B1, essential for nerve and brain function
- Endocrine disruption: Thyroid problems, especially hypothyroidism, which slows brain metabolism
- Side effects of medications: Interactions of sedative drugs, anticholinergics or polypharmacy in the elderly
- Mental health issues: Severe depression and anxiety, which can cause “pseudodementia,” a state of cognitive slowing and memory loss that resolves with mental health treatment
- Metabolic and kidney problems: Chronic kidney or liver failure, as well as electrolyte imbalances, which change levels of brain chemicals
Managing physical health issues – such as controlling high blood pressure, treating vision or hearing loss, and staying physically active – directly reduces the risk of cognitive decline. (iStock)
The Cleveland Clinic emphasizes that early clinical intervention is essential when individuals notice changes in “brain fog” or executive function.
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“The way your brain functions on a daily basis is sort of a result of everything your brain is dealing with,” Wood said. “But if you start to notice something, there’s still time to make some changes if necessary.”
Gn Health
