Memory loss in the elderly - how to treat, causes. Memory Loss in Young and Old People: Causes and Recovery

Elderly people always bring problems, the opinion of children and grandchildren.

But this is not the fault of the elderly, since with age, irreversible changes occur in the whole organism, including the brain. Human memory is a completely unexplored substance by scientists.

It is known that it can fail not only in old age, but also at a young age. It helps a person to navigate in space, and temporal, linking the past, present and future.

In addition, memory is responsible for social adaptation in society. Knowing your name, as well as the names of your relatives and friends, it is easier for people to adapt in life.

But what to do when it disappears for a while or disappears altogether? Moreover, this is very dangerous in adulthood, although according to statistics, old people are more susceptible to amnesia.

Consider the main causes of such a disease, what are the symptoms and how to help old parents overcome the disease.

Causes of memory loss

Memory loss is a phenomenon not fully understood. It can be long-term or short-term and is defined as the loss of complete or partial memories.

Memory loss is limited to a number of causes that can be divided into two groups:

physiological;
psychological.

Let's take a closer look at what each group is about.

Physiological

These reasons are justified by changes in the functioning of important body systems:

Chronic diseases that last a lifetime and lead to negative consequences deviations of mental activity.
Head injuries that impair brain function.
Age-related brain disorders.
Disorders of the nervous system.
, which lead to regular lack of sleep, which is the cause or an excited state.
Sedentary and immobilized lifestyle and monotony in work.
crash metabolic processes.
and improper dietary intake.
Circulatory problems.
Infectious diseases.

Alcohol dependence can also be noted here, since constant intoxication with products containing alcohol also leads to irreversible consequences brain.

It can be said with accuracy that diseases directly affect memory loss, in addition, if a person has previously suffered, he can also lose his mind in old age.

Psychological factors

Constant stress in life, at work. Self dissatisfaction.
Fatigue, lethargy or excessive overexcitation of the body.
Lack of attention from friends, relatives, family members.
Excessive thoughtfulness, which is observed regularly.

When such reasons appear, the old man begins to act mechanically in this or that situation, not remembering the moments of the action. This develops constantly, and after a while the elderly cannot even remember what happened in the morning.

Symptoms of memory loss in the elderly

Memory loss in the elderly can be identified by the presence of the following symptoms:

Confused consciousness. When consciousness is in an abnormal state, as they say, “everything is mixed up in the head,” short-term memory loss often occurs.
. Manifested as a result of a head injury, senile dementia. Memory loss and speech impairments often complement each other, this is due to a violation of Broca's area, located in the medulla and responsible for language processing.
Violation of concentration. The cause of this symptom is the brain or infection.
, which is a consequence of a traumatic brain injury, an infectious disease.
Violation of orientation and coordination of movements. This symptom occurs when there is a problem with visual memory. A person does not remember and is not aware of the location, cannot concentrate his thoughts. One of the first signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Fatigue. Appears as a result of a brain tumor, a viral disease, with thyroid disorders.
, which accompanies next to the loss of memories. An elderly person, being in an unconscious position, falls into, he is attacked by a feeling of anxiety, which leads to trembling throughout the body. Often this symptom occurs in people suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction.
. When this symptom appears, a person has problems with the coordination of the motor apparatus, in addition, it can occur in conjunction with impaired consciousness.
Regular bad mood, disruption of household chores, decreased interest in current events.

Often, all symptoms cannot be present in a single case, they usually occur all together. If observed senile dementia, then as a rule, it is accompanied by a violation of orientation and coordination of movement.

Often on the streets of the city you can meet lost old people who do not remember who they are, where they came from and where they are going.

Their speech is difficult, their thoughts are confused, there is confusion in their head. Sometimes the remnants of memories slip through, but it is very difficult to put everything together. When meeting such people, you should immediately seek help from a medical facility.

Types of memory loss

Depending on the events that have been erased from memory and consciousness, the following types are distinguished:

In terms of prevalence. Allocate complete or partial absence of memories.
Time, short term and long term.
By events that are lost. Consider anterograde and retrograde. At the first sight, the patient cannot remember events occurring in the past, but is able to remember the present moments. As a result of anterograde loss, this is a complete loss of memory. Retrograde - after the onset of a brain disorder, a person is not able to remember what happened before. But he can remember quite old events.
In terms of speed, the loss of memories can be sudden and gradual, which occurs as a result of the natural aging of the body.
Global amnesia - the patient does not remember the past, present, future time, cannot even remember what happens to him at some point in time.
Selective - the ability to emerge in the memory of an elderly person of any single events.
Visual - the name speaks for itself. The ability to recognize people is lost. There are moments when glimpses appear in the subconscious that supposedly saw a person, but does not remember who he is.

In addition, this list can be supplemented by species that are less dependent on body changes:

Korsakov loss - this type is found in people who drink, during intoxication and during a severe hangover.
Senile loss - the onset occurs gradually with the advent of senile age. often old people cannot realize what is happening to them, but they will gladly tell all the events of their turbulent youth.
After a stroke - the emerging symptoms of a past illness, such as impaired vision, speech, sensitivity, lead to memory loss.

Memory loss after alcohol

It should be highlighted as a special case. Amnesia can appear already at the first stage.

This occurs when the nervous system is damaged by ethyl alcohol. As a rule, memory loss is short-term.

For signs of memory loss drinking man several factors influence:

degree of alcohol-containing drink;
the amount of harmful liquid drunk;
mixing several types of alcoholic products;
drinking alcohol on an empty stomach;

Memory loss is directly related to the amount of alcohol ingested. If the dose is small, then memory loss may not occur. It all depends on age categories, sex of a person, his state of health.

Amnesia can occur during the use of an alcoholic beverage and drug treatment. Some, mostly all, drugs are not recommended for use with alcohol.

Apart from medicines joint drug use should be avoided. If such a case occurs, then a period of time falls out for a person, which begins from the moment of onset of intoxication and ends during the passage of the hangover syndrome.

With constant alcoholism, Korsakov's memory loss is observed. This syndrome is observed with constant intoxication, when food products and do not enter the body.

Treatment

Memory loss is a complex process. Where to go, how to treat?

And a number of questions arise when the first signs of amnesia appear.

It is worth remembering that memory recovery is a laborious and long-term process. But positive results is to be expected.

Medical treatment

If the first signs of loss of consciousness and memories appear, then you should immediately consult a doctor.

He, in turn, will conduct a full examination to detect the disease and make a diagnosis, then prescribe medications.

Among them, you can designate a list of the most popular in the treatment:

Exelon;
memantine;
Mexidol;
Nootropil;
Bilobil;
Reminil.

In addition to the drugs listed above, sedatives, for example, Glycine, as well as a vitamin complex.

It is important when taking medications to influence the causes of the disease, which the doctor will find out and individually determine the treatment regimen.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies are not prohibited. Some doctors advise using the recipes of traditional healers to affect the disease in a complex way. It is possible to note several effective recipes that can help in the recovery processes:

Pour boiling water over dry thyme herb and infuse for 15 minutes. Take 3 times a day, like regular tea. You can add honey to taste.
It will take 40 g of dry Eleutherococcus roots per 0.6 liters of water. Boil the resulting water mixture for 10 minutes. Drink 4 times a day for 1 glass.
For 50 g of leaves walnut, take 1 liter of boiled water. Insist for a while. Drink 1 glass 3 times a day.

You can also prepare decoctions, infusions, using: dill, potatoes, walnuts, rowan bark and other medicinal drugs.

Conclusion

Listed medicinal and folk recipes should be supplemented by communication, attention. It is important that the patient realizes that you need him.

It is necessary to develop the right one for him, brighten him up.

You can create joint gatherings, supplement them with crossword puzzles, memories.

Finally, if memory deteriorates, you need to visit a psychologist and jointly seek qualified help. But never leave elderly person with his problem one on one.

Video: Dementia and memory loss

Have you ever woken up from a dream and didn't immediately know where you are? Memory loss lasts for a few moments, but causes severe discomfort. The nervous system returns to normal as soon as you remember what you were doing before you fell asleep. Imagine for a moment, this condition lasts for weeks and even months, progresses. Are you painfully unable to remember your name, what did you do in life? strangers they say that they were your relatives, but you are not at all sure that this is so. What mechanisms underlie memory loss, how to achieve recovery, and avoid this terrible condition?

Doctors called total or short-term memory loss amnesia. Types and symptoms of the disease can vary significantly. Often, memory can retain individual pictures, regardless of being tied to certain time intervals, retains vague images. A person painfully tries to restore a picture of the past, to connect information with information received from others, this becomes a strong stress for the nervous system, which is already in a state of tension.
We remember significant events our life is bright. How can you forget the wedding day, the birth of a child, the emotions that filled the journey? Positively colored stress tends to improve memory. Here is another example, you enter the audience where you are supposed to make a presentation, and all the theses flew out of your head. If you want to please a person, he asks you questions, you are nervous, confused, cannot connect two words and look stupid.

Scientists have found that short-term or mild stressful conditions lead to an improvement in memory, but negative, strong shocks lead to deterioration or loss. In people who have suffered as a result of an accident, or have been subjected to violence, this event is sometimes erased from memory, as if the smart body is trying to protect us from negativity. Over time, some fragments of those events partially emerge, sometimes the details remain beyond memories. This condition can occur after a stroke, anesthesia or a large number alcohol.

The main symptom of amnesia is the loss of memories of recent or past events. Sometimes memory loss in young and old people can be accompanied by headache, disorientation in space, or impaired coordination of movements. When such anxiety states consultation with a specialist is necessary, they may be evidence of the development of brain cancer or the progression of other dangerous diseases.

Causes of memory loss

Memory lapses are an ailment that has various, not fully understood causes. We are all different, which for some can be a major shock, for others only a momentary disruption of the normal rhythm of life, it all depends on the perception and psychological type personality. Artists, politicians, teachers cannot imagine themselves without public speaking, they experience an incomparable buzz from applause, concerts, lectures are vital for them. For those who prefer to remain in the background, communicating with a small audience of well-known people and even congratulating loved ones becomes a terrible ordeal.

The impact of positive stress usually provokes an improvement in memory, this state may not last indefinitely, in other words, when the stress load accumulates and the body is no longer able to adequately respond to an external stimulus (even if it is positively colored), memory problems begin, our internal computer is the brain fails by sending an SOS signal!

However, the manifestation of memory loss may be preceded not only by a stressful situation or the development of a brain tumor, the reasons may be more prosaic - a head injury, chronic fatigue syndrome due to non-compliance with the regime of work and rest, an overdose of drugs or alcohol, age-related changes - or Parkinson's, combined in category dementia - a chronic, usually progressive syndrome of the extinction of the cognitive and mental abilities of a person, characteristic of the elderly.

Treatment and restoration of memory

Most of the conditions of memory loss in the elderly and young can be corrected, it is very important to fight not with the symptoms, but to treat the disease itself, for this it is necessary to correctly diagnose and identify the causes of memory loss and know how to restore? Medical treatment amnesia should be carried out under the guidance of a specialist, as part of complex therapy they will have a positive effect folk methods- phytotherapy, nutrition correction, breathing exercises, aromatherapy, and, most importantly, memory training.

The composition of herbal infusions for restoring memory includes ginkgo biloba. Dietary supplements containing this plant strengthen the walls of blood vessels, improve blood flow and give a guaranteed result. Ginseng, eleutherococcus and rosemary promote concentration, valerian and motherwort soothe the nervous system.

The diet of patients with memory problems in sufficient quantities should include foods containing vitamin E, unsaturated fatty acids omega 3,6 and 9 - sea fish, leafy vegetables, nuts, olive oil. Do not forget about the need to drink enough water. Rational water balance provides optimal indicators of blood viscosity. Thickening of the blood leads to oxygen starvation and the risk of blood clots.

Breathing exercises provide oxygen to the brain, and general blood circulation normalizes.

Even in ancient Egypt, the priests used folk methods, they knew that aromas can penetrate into the most remote corners of our memory and evoke memories. It is important that the smell does not cause negative sensations in the patient.

There are many proven ways to train memory - solving mathematical problems, memorizing texts - poetry and prose, playing chess. You can train your memory together with your little family members, the game captivates everyone without exception. Put 7-8 on the table small items, looking at them for 10-15 seconds, try to remember the order in which they follow and the picture as a whole. Do you turn away and, at the signal of your companion, try to understand which items have disappeared or switched places? Agree, a very pleasant treatment for memory lapses.

Memory loss in the elderly - how to treat?

The mechanism of memory loss in the elderly is fairly well understood and has a logical explanation. The walls of the vessels of an elderly person are not as elastic and permeable as those of young people. The accumulation of cholesterol plaques prevents the free flow of blood, which leads to oxygen starvation of brain cells. Lacking nutrition and oxygen, they gradually begin to die off, which leads to partial or complete loss of memory. Cell regeneration at this age is slowed down, doctors call this process senile sclerosis. A person forgets significant events in life, sometimes he may not recognize loved ones, behaves inappropriately, sometimes very aggressively - how to help?

Unlike other types of amnesia, senile sclerosis is fairly easy to treat. The process can be lengthy and consists of medication and restorative measures using folk methods.

Help from relatives

With general or partial memory loss after a stroke, anesthesia, or for other reasons, the success of treatment largely depends on relatives. Patients tend to withdraw into themselves or, on the contrary, show excessive obsession. Relatives need to know how to help, not only organize an examination, the treatment process, but also create an atmosphere of warmth and attention, calmly respond to the oddities of the patient, pay attention, spend as much time together as possible, try to unobtrusively remind about the pleasant events of the past and the restoration of memory will not force wait a long time.

Prevention

If you stick healthy lifestyle life

observe the regime of work and rest;
show sufficient physical activity;
being outdoors;
do not get nervous over trifles;
are able to cope with stressful loads;
train your brain and memory;
read a lot;
do not eat fatty meat with lard,

you can be calm, neither complete nor short-term memory loss threatens you. And in this video you will learn 4 simple secrets that will help you keep your memory until old age. Be healthy!

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Be healthy! Taisiya Filippova was with you.

Smirnova Olga Leonidovna

Neurologist, education: First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov. Work experience 20 years.

Articles written

How to treat memory loss in the elderly is of interest to all relatives, since in old age various health problems appear, including impaired brain function.

Memory is necessary for a person to orient himself in space, to connect the past with the present and the future. With its help, people adapt in society, adapt to life. But sometimes memory can deteriorate or disappear. If disorders occur in old age, then it is considered normal caused by physiological processes in the aging body. But sometimes the problem can be associated with pathologies.

A person can lose memory for a short time or for a long time. The development of the disease is promoted by various reasons, which are divided into two large groups.

Physiological

In this case, the pathology is associated with violations of the organs and systems. Memory deteriorates if:

Throughout life, a person suffers chronic diseases, then it is badly reflected in mental abilities.
Often the head was injured, because of which the work of the brain deteriorated.
The body undergoes changes associated with age.
A person suffers from certain disorders of the nervous system.
There is not enough rest. Constant lack of sleep leads to the development of depression.
A person moves little and performs monotonous work.
There was a failure in the biochemical processes in the body.
Not getting enough nutrients from food.
In the anamnesis there are pathologies of the circulatory system.
Infectious diseases develop.

The use of alcoholic beverages plays a significant role, since the constant poisoning of the body with ethanol decay products contributes to the death of cells and causes changes in the brain that cannot be reversed.

The probability of a decrease in the ability to memorize in old age increases after inflammatory diseases of the brain, epilepsy.

Psychological

The problem also occurs if:

a person constantly experiences stress, feels dissatisfaction with himself;
with excessive excitability or due to a constant feeling of lethargy;
constantly thinking deeply about something.

Under the influence of these factors, a person acts mechanically, without remembering his manipulations. Gradually, he cannot remember the events of the previous day.

What types are

A person is able to lose memory for a short time or for a long time. Also, amnesia can be:

Anterograde. At the same time, the patient does not remember the past, but remembers the present well, memory is gradually completely lost.
Retrograde. After the appearance of disorders in the brain, a person cannot remember what happened before the illness, but remembers old events.

Memory problems develop abruptly or brain function gradually deteriorates with age.

There are global forms of amnesia in which the patient cannot remember anything. At the same time, some events periodically pop up in memory.

With visual forms, the patient does not recognize people. There are other types of amnesia in the form of:

Korsakovskaya. This problem is known to people suffering from alcoholism, during intoxication or a hangover.
Senile. Changes in the brain develop gradually. The old man does not remember what happened to him recently, but talks about his youth.
Memory loss after stroke. Manifestations of the disease disturb after acute violation blood flow in the brain. The patient has impaired hearing, vision, speech and memory.

Memory impairment after alcohol

This option is allocated to a special group. Manifestations of amnesia have been observed since initial stages development. This is due to the fact that ethyl alcohol affects the nervous system. Usually a person loses memory for a short time.

The symptoms of the problem are caused by:

degree of alcoholic beverage;
the amount of alcohol consumed;
mixing varieties of alcohol;
drinking alcohol on an empty stomach.

How serious the memory loss will be depends on how much alcohol the person has taken, what weight he has, and age. The condition worsens if alcohol is combined with drinking. medicines.

Main manifestations

Memory loss in the elderly is accompanied by:

Confusion of consciousness. At the same time, it seems to the person that everything is mixed up in his head, and he cannot remember some information;
Violation of speech function. It comes after, is a symptom senility. Speech deficiencies are often combined with amnesia. This is due to the fact that trauma or pathology has disrupted the function of Broca's area, which controls speech.
Impaired ability to concentrate. This is possible with infectious processes or neoplasms in the brain.
Headache if a person is injured or suffers from an infectious disease.
Violation of the ability to navigate in space, coordinate movements. This also happens if a person's vision is impaired. A person cannot remember and understand where he is.
Fatigue. The problem is characteristic of pathologies thyroid gland, brain tumors, viral diseases.
Tremor associated with amnesia. A person feels anxiety, because of his position, panics, because of which a trembling appears in the whole body. This condition is typical for people who use alcoholic beverages and drugs and can occur at any age.
Vertigo. This sign leads to problems with coordination of movements and often occurs simultaneously with a violation of consciousness.
Constantly bad mood, inability to do household chores, a decrease in interest in events.

Most often, there is not one symptom, but several or all at once. If a person suffers from, then along with poor memory there are difficulties with orientation in space and coordination of movements.

The patient may go outside and forget where he is going or who he is. Individual memories may slip through, but they are difficult to put together.

Diagnostics

Improving memory even in old age is possible only after identifying and eliminating the causes of violations. For this, a number of diagnostic measures. Studies are carried out to determine the nature of amnesia, after which it will be easier to choose a restorative therapy.

The problem is determined by studying the electrical potential of the brain. General and biochemical analysis blood reveals accompanying illnesses that can impair memory. For more detailed information about the state of the brain, conduct a computer or. Depending on the clinical picture, other procedures may be prescribed.

Based on the results of the examination, a treatment will be selected. It is impossible to use any drugs on your own, as they can only lead to a worsening of the situation.

Treatment

How to improve memory after 60 years, the doctor knows. Restoring the ability to memorize quickly does not work out. It is a long and difficult process that will gradually lead to improvement.

Medical therapy

With certain medicines:

in the brain. For this, a certain dose of Trental or Pentoxifylline is recommended.
Eliminate the process of death of neurons that carry out the transmission of signals in the brain. Piracetam, Actovegin, Gliatilin have such properties.
Improve memory function. For this, Memantine, Glycine and other agents are prescribed.

In addition to these medicines, medicines are needed to calm the nervous system, as well as minerals for general strengthening of the body. It is impossible to choose medicines on your own.

Psychotherapy

You can improve memory after 50 years with the help of psychotherapeutic techniques. Consultation of psychologists, defectologists and other specialists will help to normalize the functioning of the Central nervous system.

In the senile form of degenerative changes in the brain, hypnosuggestive therapy is used. With the help of hypnosis, a person can regain a certain part of his memories.

Physical activity

Doctors advise relatives of people with memory loss not to place them in psychiatric clinics, as this will only worsen the condition. The home environment has a more positive effect on the condition of the elderly person and helps to achieve improvement faster.

It is important that the atmosphere in the house is friendly and calm. In order for the patient's condition to return to normal faster, you should:

Ensure adequate sleep. Rest must last at least nine hours a day. IN different ages a separate amount of sleep is required. Therefore, in older people, this period may last longer.
There should be no noise and quarrels in the house. During the conversation, relatives should not raise their voices.
Pay more attention to the elderly. You need to communicate more with him, play games, learn poetry, watch TV shows and discuss what is happening.
Take regular walks outdoors. The walk should last at least an hour. It is advisable to go outside in the morning and evening.
Do morning exercises every day. You need to do at least the simplest exercises.

It is important to choose the optimal level of physical activity. Do not overwork the patient, as this can only lead to a deterioration in well-being. The selection of suitable exercises should be done by a doctor, taking into account individual characteristics the patient's body.

Nutrition Features

Memory lapses in the elderly suggest treatment with diet.

Elderly people especially need proper nutrition. It is necessary to completely exclude fatty, fried, fast food. The diet should contain a sufficient number of first courses with poultry, fish, vegetables and fruits should also be consumed.

To improve the condition of the whole organism and the brain, nuts, dried fruits, and cottage cheese are needed.

All food should be prepared immediately before consumption. The patient should eat three times a day. In addition to the main food intake, you should eat fruits, vegetables, dairy products.

Folk remedies

Application folk remedies many practice. With the permission of the doctor, such methods can be used in combination with traditional treatment. The best effect in restoring memory is achieved with the help of:

Thyme tea. Dry grass is poured with boiled water and infused for a quarter of an hour, honey is added to improve the taste.
A decoction of Eleutherococcus root. 40 grams of roots are poured into 600 ml of water and boiled for ten minutes. You need to drink a drink four times a day for a glass.

You can take such funds only after consulting with your doctor and a thorough examination.

Prevention measures

You can avoid ill health if:

Monitor compliance with the regime of work and rest.
Normalize the level of physical activity.
Take regular walks outdoors.
Engage in strengthening the nervous system. For this, relaxation sessions and meditation are used.
Conduct .
Read a lot.
Do not abuse fatty foods.
Avoid alcohol and drugs.

The problem of memory loss is known to many older people. But you can avoid its development if you do prevention in your youth. Thanks to a responsible attitude to your health, you can ensure a decent old age in your right mind and with a good memory.

Memory disorders: why memory becomes poor, the norm and the relationship with diseases, treatment

Memory is an important function of our central nervous system to perceive the received information and store it in some invisible “cells” of the brain in reserve in order to retrieve and use it in the future. Memory is one of the most important abilities of a person’s mental activity, therefore the slightest violation of memory burdens him, he gets out of the usual rhythm of life, suffering himself and annoying those around him.

Memory impairment is most often perceived as one of the many clinical manifestations of some kind of neuropsychic or neurological pathology, although in other cases, forgetfulness, absent-mindedness and bad memory are the only signs of a disease, the development of which no one pays attention to, believing that a person is such by nature.

The big mystery is human memory

Memory is a complex process that takes place in the central nervous system and involving the perception, accumulation, retention and reproduction of information received in different periods of time. Most of all, we think about the properties of our memory when we need to learn something new. The result of all the efforts made in the learning process depends on how someone manages to hook, hold, perceive what they see, hear or read, which is important when choosing a profession. From the point of view of biology, memory is short-term and long-term.

Information received in a glimpse or, as they say, “it flew in one ear, flew out of the other” is a short-term memory in which what is seen and heard is postponed for several minutes, but, as a rule, without meaning and content. So, the episode flashed by and disappeared. Short-term memory does not promise anything in advance, which is probably good, because otherwise a person would have to store all the information that he does not need at all.

However, with certain efforts of a person, information that has fallen into the zone short term memory, if you keep your eyes on it or listen and delve into it, it will go to long-term storage. This also happens against the will of a person, if some episodes are often repeated, have a special emotional significance, or take up different reasons separate place among other phenomena.

Assessing their memory, some people claim that they have a short-term memory, because everything is remembered, assimilated, retold in a couple of days, and then just as quickly forgotten. This often happens when preparing for exams, when information is put aside only for the purpose of reproducing it to decorate a grade book. It should be noted that in such cases, turning again to this topic, when it becomes interesting, a person can easily restore seemingly lost knowledge. It is one thing to know and forget, and another to not receive information. And here everything is simple - the acquired knowledge without special efforts of a person were transformed into long-term memory departments.

Long-term memory analyzes, structures, creates volume and purposefully postpones everything for future use indefinitely. In from on long-term memory everything is holding up. Memorization mechanisms are very complex, but we are so used to them that we perceive them as natural and simple things. However, we note that for the successful implementation of the learning process, in addition to memory, it is important to have attention, that is, to be able to concentrate on the right subjects.

It is common for a person to forget past events after a while, if they do not periodically extract their knowledge in order to use them, therefore, the inability to remember something is not always to be attributed to memory impairment. Each of us has experienced the feeling when "it is spinning in the head, but does not come to mind", but this does not mean that serious disorders have occurred in the memory.

Why do memory lapses happen?

The causes of impaired memory and attention in adults and children may be different. If a child with congenital mental retardation immediately has learning problems, then he will already come to adulthood with these disorders. Children and adults can react differently to the environment: the child's psyche is more tender, so it takes stress harder. In addition, adults have long studied what the child is still trying to master.

Sadly, the tendency to use alcoholic beverages and narcotic drugs by adolescents, and even by young children left without parental supervision, has become frightening: it is not so rare that they are recorded in reports law enforcement and medical institutions cases of poisoning. But for the child's brain, alcohol is the strongest poison that has an extremely negative effect on memory.

True, some pathological conditions that often cause absent-mindedness and poor memory in adults are usually excluded in children (Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, osteochondrosis).

Causes of memory impairment in children

Thus, the causes of impaired memory and attention in children can be considered:

Lack of vitamins,;
Asthenia;
Frequent viral infections;
Traumatic brain injury;
Stressful situations (dysfunctional family, despotism of parents, problems in the team that the child attends);
Poor eyesight;
Mental disorder;
Poisoning, alcohol and drug use;
Congenital pathology, in which mental retardation is programmed (Down syndrome, etc.) or other (whatever) conditions (lack of vitamins or trace elements, the use of certain drugs, a change in better side metabolic processes), contributing to the formation of attention deficit disorder, which, as you know, does not improve memory.

Causes of problems in adults

In adults, the cause of poor memory, absent-mindedness and inability to concentrate for a long time are various diseases acquired in the course of life:

Stress, psycho-emotional stress, chronic fatigue both souls and bodies;
Acute and chronic;
Discirculatory;
cervical spine;
Traumatic brain injury;
Metabolic disorders;
Hormonal imbalance;
GM tumors;
Mental disorders (depression, schizophrenia and many others).

Of course, anemia of various origins, lack of trace elements, diabetes mellitus and other numerous somatic pathologies lead to impaired memory and attention, contribute to the appearance of forgetfulness and absent-mindedness.

What are the types of memory disorders? Among them are dysmnesia(hypermnesia, hypomnesia, amnesia) - changes in memory itself, and paramnesia- distortion of memories, to which the patient's personal fantasies are added. By the way, some of them, on the contrary, are considered by others to be rather a phenomenal memory than its violation. True, experts may have a slightly different opinion on this matter.

Dysmnesia

Phenomenal memory or mental disorder?

Hypermnesia- with such a violation, people remember and perceive quickly, information set aside many years ago pops up in memory for no reason, “rolls”, returns to the past, which does not always cause positive emotions. A person himself does not know why he needs to keep everything in his head, however, he can reproduce some long-past events to the smallest detail. For example, an elderly person can easily describe in detail (up to the teacher's clothes) individual lessons at school, retell the lithmontage of a pioneer gathering, it is not difficult for him to remember other details related to studying at the institute, professional activities or family events.

Hypermnesia, present in healthy person in the absence of other clinical manifestations, it is not considered a disease, rather, on the contrary, this is exactly the case when they talk about phenomenal memory, although from the point of view of psychology, phenomenal memory is a slightly different phenomenon. People with this phenomenon are able to memorize and reproduce huge amounts of information that is not connected with any special meaning. These can be large numbers, sets of individual words, lists of objects, notes. Such a memory is often possessed by great writers, musicians, mathematicians and people of other professions that require genius abilities. Meanwhile, hypermnesia in a healthy person who does not belong to the cohort of geniuses, but has a high intelligence quotient (IQ), is not such a rare occurrence.

As one of the symptoms of pathological conditions, memory impairment in the form of hypermnesia occurs:

With paroxysmal mental disorders (epilepsy);
With intoxication with psychoactive substances (psychotropic drugs, narcotic drugs);
In the case of hypomania - a condition similar to mania, but not up to it in terms of the severity of the course. Patients may experience a surge of energy, increased vitality, and ability to work. With hypomania, a violation of memory and attention is often combined (disinhibition, instability, inability to concentrate).

It is obvious that only a specialist can understand such subtleties, distinguish between the norm and pathology. Most of us are average representatives of the human population, to whom "nothing human is alien", but at the same time they do not turn the world upside down. From time to time (not every year and not in every locality) geniuses appear, they are not always immediately noticeable, because often such individuals are considered simply eccentrics. And, finally, (perhaps not often?) among the various pathological conditions there are mental illnesses that require correction and complex treatment.

bad memory

Hypomnesia- this type is usually expressed in two words: "bad memory."

Forgetfulness, absent-mindedness and poor memory are observed with asthenic syndrome, which, in addition to memory problems, is also characterized by other symptoms:

Increased fatigue.
Nervousness, irritability with or without it, bad mood.
Meteorological dependence.
during the day and insomnia at night.
BP drops, .
Tides and others.
, weakness.

Asthenic syndrome, as a rule, forms another pathology, for example:

Arterial hypertension.
Postponed traumatic brain injury (TBI).
atherosclerotic process.
The initial stage of schizophrenia.

The cause of impaired memory and attention according to the type of hypomnesia can be various depressive states (you can’t count everyone), menopausal syndrome that occurs with an adaptation disorder, organic brain damage (severe TBI, epilepsy, tumors). In such situations, as a rule, in addition to hypomnesia, the symptoms listed above are also present.

"I remember here - I don't remember here"

At amnesia not the whole memory falls out, but its individual fragments. As an example of this type of amnesia, one would like to recall the film by Alexander Gray "Gentlemen of Fortune" - "I remember here - I don't remember here."

However, not all amnesias look like in the famous motion picture, there are more serious cases when memory is lost significantly and for a long time or forever, therefore, several types of such memory impairments (amnesia) are distinguished:

A special type of memory loss that cannot be managed is progressive amnesia, representing a sequential loss of memory from the present to the past. The reason for the destruction of memory in such cases is organic atrophy of the brain, which occurs during Alzheimer's disease And . Such patients do not reproduce memory traces well (speech disorders), for example, they forget names household items that are used daily (plate, chair, watch), but at the same time they know what they are intended for (amnestic aphasia). In other cases, the patient simply does not recognize the thing (sensory aphasia) or does not know what it is for (semantic aphasia). However, one should not confuse the habits of “radical” owners to find a use for everything that is in the house, even if it is intended for completely different purposes (you can make a beautiful dish or stand out of a used kitchen clock in the form of a plate).

This is what you need to figure out!

Paramnesia (distortion of memories) also referred to as memory disorders, and among them are the following types:

Confabulation, in which fragments of one’s own memory disappear, and their place is taken by stories invented by the patient and presented to them “in all seriousness”, since he himself believes in what he is talking about. Patients talk about their exploits, unprecedented achievements in life and work, and even sometimes about crimes.
pseudo-reminiscence- the replacement of one memory with another event that actually took place in the patient's life, only at a completely different time and under different circumstances (Korsakov's syndrome).
Cryptomnesia when patients, having received information from various sources (books, movies, stories of other people), pass it off as events they experienced. In a word, patients, due to pathological changes, go to involuntary plagiarism, which is characteristic of delusional ideas found in organic disorders.
Echomnesia- a person feels (quite sincerely) that this event has already happened to him (or did he see it in a dream?). Of course, such thoughts sometimes visit a healthy person, but the difference is that patients attach special significance to such phenomena (“go in cycles”), while healthy people simply quickly forget about it.
Polympsest- this symptom exists in two versions: short-term memory lapses associated with pathological alcohol intoxication (episodes of the past day are confused with long-past events), and the combination of two different events of the same period of time, in the end, the patient himself does not know what happened In fact.

As a rule, these symptoms in pathological conditions are accompanied by other clinical manifestations, therefore, having noticed signs of “déjà vu” in oneself, there is no need to rush to make a diagnosis - this also happens in healthy people.

Decreased concentration affects memory

To violations of memory and attention, the loss of the ability to focus on specific objects include the following pathological conditions:

Attention instability- a person is constantly distracted, jumping from one subject to another (disinhibition syndrome in children, hypomania, hebephrenia - a mental disorder that develops as a form of schizophrenia in adolescence);
Rigidity (slow switching) from one topic to another - this symptom is very typical for epilepsy (those who communicated with such people know that the patient is constantly “stuck”, which makes it difficult to conduct a dialogue);
Lack of concentration- they say about such people: “That’s what a distracted one from Basseinaya Street!”, That is, absent-mindedness and poor memory in such cases are often perceived as features of temperament and behavior, which, in principle, often corresponds to reality.

Undoubtedly a decrease in concentration of attention, in particular, will adversely affect the entire process of memorizing and storing information, that is, on the state of memory as a whole.

Children forget faster

As for children, all these gross, permanent memory impairments, characteristic of adults and, especially, the elderly, are very rarely noted in childhood. Memory problems that arise due to congenital features require correction and, with a skillful approach (as far as possible), may recede a little. There are many cases when the efforts of parents and teachers literally worked wonders for Down syndrome and other types of congenital mental retardation, but here the approach is individual and dependent on different circumstances.

Another thing is if the baby was born healthy, and the problems appeared as a result of the troubles suffered. So here a child can expect a slightly different reaction to different situations:

Amnesia in children in most cases, it manifests itself as memory lapses in relation to individual memories of episodes that occurred during the period of clouding of consciousness associated with unpleasant events (poisoning, coma, trauma) - it is not in vain that they say that children quickly forget;
Alcoholization adolescence also proceeds differently than in adults - lack of memories ( polympsests) on events occurring during intoxication, appears already in the first stages of drunkenness, without waiting for a diagnosis (alcoholism);
retrograde amnesia in children, as a rule, it affects a short period of time before an injury or illness, and its severity is not as clear as in adults, that is, memory loss in a child can not always be noticed.

Most often in children and adolescents there is a memory impairment of the type of dysmnesia, which is manifested by a weakening of the ability to remember, store (retention) and reproduce (reproduction) the information received. Disorders of this type are more noticeable in school-age children, as they affect school performance, adaptation in a team, and behavior in everyday life.

Toddlers attending nurseries preschool institutions, symptoms of dysmnesia are problems with memorizing rhymes, songs, children cannot participate in children's matinees and holidays. Despite the fact that the kid visits kindergarten all the time, every time he comes there, he cannot find his own locker to change clothes, among other items (toys, clothes, towels) it is difficult for him to find his own. Dysmnestic disorders are also noticeable at home: the child cannot tell what happened in the garden, forgets the names of other children, each time he reads fairy tales he perceives as if he hears them for the first time, he does not remember the names of the main characters.

Transient disturbances of memory and attention, along with fatigue, drowsiness and all sorts of autonomic disorders, are often observed in schoolchildren with various etiologies.

Before treatment

Before treating the symptoms of memory impairment, it is necessary to make a correct diagnosis and find out what causes the patient's problems. To do this, you need to get more information about his health:

What diseases does he suffer from? Perhaps it will be possible to trace the connection between the existing pathology (or transferred in the past) with the deterioration intellectual abilities;
Does he have a pathology that directly leads to memory impairment: dementia, cerebrovascular insufficiency, TBI (history), chronic alcoholism, drug disorders?
Which medical preparations is the patient taking and is the memory impairment associated with the use of drugs? Certain groups of pharmaceuticals, such as benzodiazepines, including side effects have this kind violations, which, however, are reversible.

In addition, in the process of diagnostic search, it can be very useful to identify metabolic disorders, hormonal imbalance, deficiency of microelements and vitamins.

In most cases, when looking for the causes of memory impairment, they resort to methods neuroimaging(CT, MRI, EEG, PET, etc.), which help to detect a brain tumor or hydrocephalus and, at the same time, to differentiate a vascular brain lesion from a degenerative one.

The need for neuroimaging methods also arises because memory impairment at first may be the only symptom of a serious pathology. Unfortunately, the greatest difficulties in diagnosis are depressive states, forcing in other cases to prescribe a trial antidepressant treatment (to find out if there is depression or not).

Treatment and correction

The normal aging process itself involves some decline in intellectual abilities: forgetfulness appears, memorization is not so easy, concentration of attention drops, especially if the neck is “squeezed” or pressure rises, however, such symptoms do not significantly affect the quality of life and behavior in everyday life. Older people who adequately assess their age learn to remind themselves (and quickly remember) about current affairs.

In addition, many do not neglect pharmaceutical treatment to improve memory.

Now there are a number of drugs that can improve brain function and even help with tasks that require significant intellectual effort. First of all, these are (piracetam, phezam, vinpocetine, cerebrolysin, cinnarizine, etc.).

Nootropics are indicated for elderly people who have certain age-related problems that are not yet noticeable to others. Preparations of this group are suitable for improving memory in case of violation cerebral circulation caused by other pathological conditions of the brain and vascular system. By the way, many of these drugs are successfully used in pediatric practice.

However, nootropics are a symptomatic treatment, and in order to obtain the proper effect, one must strive for an etiotropic one.

As for Alzheimer's disease, tumors, mental disorders, here the approach to treatment should be very specific - depending on the pathological changes and the reasons that led to them. There is no single prescription for all cases, so there is nothing to advise patients. You just need to contact a doctor, who, perhaps, before prescribing drugs to improve memory, will send for an additional examination.

Difficult in adults and the correction of disorders of mental activity. Patients with poor memory, under the supervision of an instructor, memorize verses, solve crossword puzzles, practice solving logical problems, however, training, bringing some success (the severity of mnestic disorders seems to have decreased), still do not give particularly significant results.

Correction of memory and attention in children, in addition to treatment with various groups pharmaceuticals, provides classes with a psychologist, exercises for the development of memory (poems, drawings, tasks). Of course, the children's psyche is more mobile and better amenable to correction, unlike the adult psyche. Children have the prospect of progressive development, while in older people only the opposite effect progresses.

Video: bad memory - expert opinion

Memory loss in the elderly has many potential causes. These are age-related changes in the brain and diseases accumulated over the years that affect the central nervous activity, and diseases characteristic of old age.

Unlike at a young age, memory loss in older people, no matter how it is treated, will still occur. Don't expect complete. But complex treatment can improve it, stop the progression of deterioration, and also preserve the opportunity for an elderly person to have a relatively comfortable quality of life.

Therapeutic measures are aimed at the causes of memory impairment and improvement of conditions for the functioning of brain structures responsible for higher nervous activity.

Treatment of causes

In old age, pathologies accumulate that can potentially lead to dysfunction of higher nervous activity, including memory impairment. These are diseases that, one way or another, contribute to temporary or permanent circulatory disorders in the brain, hypoxia of its structures responsible for memory processes.

The main causes of memory loss in older people include:

brain stroke;

If foci of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke affect the frontal, temporal lobes, thalamus, hippocampus, the risk of memory impairment is especially high.

Ischemic heart disease, heart failure often accompany elderly age. With these pathologies, the contractility of the heart suffers, the value of cardiac output decreases. Then the body redistributes the blood flow and the brain continues to receive normal amount blood due to the fact that tissues on the periphery (skin, intestines, limbs) do not receive it. But once this mechanism is exhausted. And the blood flow in the brain begins to suffer.

Hypertension is a frequent companion of old age. It not only leads to heart failure. The brain independently from the whole organism regulates the size of the lumen of the vessels. However, long-term hypertension leads to disruption of this regulation.

Important! To improve memory, it is necessary to achieve compensation for these pathologies. For this, blood pressure is monitored and corrected with medications, drugs that optimize the work of the heart.

Respiratory failure, which may accompany heart failure or be independent, leads to the fact that the composition of the blood flowing to the brain contains less oxygen. The elimination of the causes of the pathological condition of the lungs often occurs when the activity of the heart is compensated.

In the lumen of the vessels lead to a decrease in the lumen and to the restriction of blood flow to the brain. It is recommended to carry out anti-atherosclerotic therapy, normalization of blood cholesterol and lipid levels.

Varicose veins of the lower extremities are a source of small blood clots that can enter the brain and clog capillaries and larger vessels. Exclusion of small vessels from the bloodstream leads to microinfarcts of the brain, large and medium - to a life-threatening condition. Recommended treatment of varicose veins, the use of drugs that reduce blood viscosity.

In addition, memory loss in old age is due to a decrease in the number of neurons, as well as a weakening of the synaptic connections between them that conduct memory impulses.

It is believed that the disruption of the central nervous system in general and memory loss in old age, in particular, are a physiological pattern. Therefore, cerebroprotective drugs should be added to complex treatment. They are aimed at optimizing oxygen consumption and metabolism in neurons. This:

nootropics and neuroprotectors (Piracetam, Cerebrolysin).
drugs that act directly on memory function (Alzepil, Glycine, Ginko biloba preparations).
vasoactive (vascular) drugs that improve the condition of the vascular wall and its tone (Pentoxifylline, Trental).

The risk of the disease is higher in people whose relatives had such a pathology. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this factor.

Type 2 diabetes also contributes to memory impairment. It is necessary to control the level of blood sugar, its correction.

Abdominal obesity, hyperlipidemia contributes to the formation of memory impairment. Mandatory normalization of weight and treatment of obesity.

The risk of memory impairment, as well as other disorders of higher nervous activity, increases significantly with a combination of hypertension, heart failure, obesity, diabetes 2 types.

Often, memory impairment in the elderly leads to stress, misunderstanding, conflicts with others. In such cases, the patience and warmth of relatives will help, it is possible to consult a psychologist.

Memory and body training

It is believed that people engaged in mental work are less prone to memory impairment. Even when it worsens, they adapt much more easily to it. Therefore, in old age, it is recommended to do different things in the form of solving conversations, listening to the radio, solving crossword puzzles, puzzles, reading, counting down.

Moderate exercise stress leads to activation of blood flow in the brain, improving blood oxygen saturation. With memory loss in the elderly, treatment should be comprehensive. It is aimed at reducing the manifestations of memory impairment, ensuring a relatively comfortable life for an elderly person within society.