Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

cognitive function and dysfunction 243
COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS OF KEY BRAIN AREAS
Brain Area Key Cognitive Functions Indications of Damage
cerebrum—frontal lobes logic inability to conduct tasks such as simple math or preparing meals
analytic thought
cannot get from one place to another, such as home to the store
judgment
cannot follow directions or instructions
concentration
difficulty finding the right words to speak or write
language formation short, fragmented attention span
and expression
inability to assess right and wrong
planning
organization
cerebrum—temporal lobes language interpretation inability to understand what others say
memory recall
cannot remember previously learned information
cerebrum—parietal lobes PROPRIOCEPTION (awareness inability to write
of body’s location in its
physical environment)
cerebrum—occipital lobes visual interpretation inability to read
amygdala/hippocampus memory storage cannot remember recent events
cannot learn new information
findings determine subsequent diagnostic procedures,
which often include COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
(CT) SCAN or MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI) to
visualize brain structure and ELECTROENCEPHALO-
GRAM (EEG) to evaluate the brain’s electrical activity.
Cognitive assessment testing measures the
ability to perform analytic and computational
tasks; recall information; and orient to time, place,
and current events.
CONDITIONS THAT MAY AFFECT COGNITIVE FUNCTION
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
BRAIN TUMOR
DEMENTIA
HYPOGLYCEMIA
MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
STROKE
BRAIN HEMORRHAGE
CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD)
HUNTINGTON’S DISEASE
medication side effects
ORGANIC BRAIN SYNDROME
sleep deprivation
TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (TBI)
Treatment Options and Outlook
Treatment approaches target the underlying
causes of cognitive dysfunction. Stopping medications
and correcting metabolic disorders that
disrupt thinking or memory result in rapid turnaround
of symptoms arising from these causes.
Because many of the areas of the brain involved
in cognition are functional rather than anatomic
divisions, their locations vary somewhat among
individuals. This is one of the factors that creates
challenge for neurologists when assessing the
extent of damage and the potential for recovery of
functions when the cause of the damage is injury
to the brain. In most people, recovery reaches its
maximum level in about two years from the time
of injury. Targeted, persistent PHYSICAL THERAPY and
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY can help the brain “reprogram”
to use other areas for some cognitive functions.
When the cause of cognitive loss is a progressive
neurologic disorder, treatment efforts are primarily
supportive and aim to maintain
independent functioning for as long as possible.
Medications such as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors
sometimes improve symptoms in people who
have Alzheimer’s disease though are less predictably
effective in other degenerative disorders
that affect cognitive function. Other medications
may improve psychiatric stability, motor function,