Overview

Overview – Neurocognitive Disorders, Part 2

Neurocognitive Disorders are a category of mental health disorders that primarily affect cognitive or thinking abilities. They are not developmental conditions but are acquired conditions representing underlying brain pathology that results in a decline in function from a previously attained level of cognitive (mental) functioning. Diagnosis requires that symptoms must be associated with a medical condition and not another mental health problem, and there cannot be evidence of delirium, which is a separate, temporary disorder with similar symptoms. 

Two categories are recognized: Mild and Major that exist on a spectrum of cognitive and functional impairment. At the mild Neurocognitive Disorder level, the individual is likely to describe their everyday tasks as being more difficult or as requiring extra time or effort or compensatory strategies. Neurocognitive deficits in mild neurocognitive disorder do not interfere with the capacity for independence in everyday activities, although the individual usually functions at a suboptimal level, with the tasks becoming more fatiguing. A mild Neurocognitive Disorder may or may not progress to a major neurocognitive disorder. A major Neurocognitive Disorder shows a serious decline from a previous level of cognitive performance, interfering with independence in everyday activities, and requiring more assistance with complex activities. Some activities may need to be abandoned altogether.

In Neurocognitive Disorders, Part 1, information on four types of disorders was presented:

1. Traumatic Brain Injury
2. HIV Infection
3. Prion Disease
4. Frontotemporal Lobe Degeneration

In Neurocognitive Disorders, Part 2, information on four additional types of disorders are presented, one type each day for four days. These are:  

1. Huntington’s Disease
2. Alzheimer’s Disease
3. Lewy Body Dementia
4. Parkinson’s Disease 

On the fifth day, the Team reviews each of the four additional types of neurocognitive disorders, helping to fix the information in your memory and to reaffirm the strategies for dealing with each type. Typically, the average person needs to review information three or four times to move it from short-term memory into long-term memory.