The thyroid gland doesn’t have a particular job in the brain, but if you are suffering from issues with your memory, it is often a symptom of thyroid disease. Hyperthyroidism (high thyroid levels) and hypothyroidism (low thyroid levels) can affect your concentration and memory.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
A vitamin B12 deficiency, or pernicious anemia, is more common in older people and is most definitely treatable, usually with a series of injections to boost the B12. Common symptoms of this deficiency include confusion, irritability, and slowness. There is a myth that the deficit comes from an inadequate diet, but the real cause is that the body develops an issue with absorbing the B12.
Alzheimer’s disease
Probably the most feared of all the medical causes of memory loss, Alzheimer’s is, unfortunately, an intractable disease that, although there can be treatments to help with some symptoms, the disease cannot be cured. The symptoms include memory loss, a decline in cognitive function, changes in personality or mood, and problems with fine motor skills.
Alzheimer’s can occur in males or females, and interestingly, it usually shows up in women a lot earlier than in men. Many drugs are being trialed to try and stop the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Vascular Dementia
This disease is due to reduced blood flow to different areas of the encephalon. The reduced flow of blood usually is due to atherosclerosis, a condition where fatty deposits accumulate on the walls of arteries. When the blood doesn’t reach the brain appropriately, it causes the death of the gray matter tissue.
When vascular dementia occurs, it is like a series of small strokes, and you generally won’t notice them. On their own, they don’t generally cause long-term damage, but when there are a number of them, it can
be more debilitating. Symptoms typically involve confusion, difficulty with thinking, slurring of speech, and in some cases, a level of paralysis.
Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration
This is a group of diseases that were once known as Pick’s disease.
Parts of the front of the brain become atrophic, dead, particularly in the temporal and frontal lobes. Sometimes it is confused with Alzheimer’s because of the similarity in the presentation.
Parkinson’s disease
Perhaps the second most well-known of the diseases that affect the mind is Parkinson’s disease. It is due to a deficiency in dopamine, which is vital for memory function and coordinating the activity of muscles. Typical symptoms include dementia, tremors, difficulty with movement, and rigidity.
Alzheimer’s can sometimes be associated with Parkinson's, and when the two appear together, there is a higher risk of dementia developing.
Parkinson’s is a debilitating disease that progresses, and despite a vast amount of research, there currently is no cure.
Huntington’s disease
Huntington’s is a genetic disorder that is quite rare, and it is associated with a gene abnormality on chromosome 4. Tragically this disease usually develops between the ages of twenty and forty, and often dementia occurs before the physical attributes of the disease.
People with Huntington’s can become aggressive, irritable, and erratic.
Although medicines are often used to treat the symptoms, the condition is incurable and inevitably leads to death.
Tumors
Any tumor in the cerebrum, whether it is malignant or benign, can affect the thought processes and the memory, depending on where in the brain the tumor is located. Personality changes are frequent with these types of tumors, and cognitive function is interfered with.
Infections and Viruses
Just about any infection in the head can and will cause some level of dementia. The worst of these diseases is Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease.
This dementia progresses rapidly, and there are often slight changes in a person’s behavior and fatigue. Eventually, the person develops seizures, coma, and death within a year of the onset of infection.
Thankfully this disease is rare.
There is also dementia associated with AIDs infection that can rapidly develop and progress occasionally within a few weeks. The main symptoms demonstrated thinking difficulties, insufficient attention, and forgetfulness.
The severe third infection causing dementia is Neurosyphyllis. Back in the days of the World Wars, this infection was rather prevalent, and it wasn’t until dementia showed itself that many diagnosed. Dementia occurs around 15 years after the person contracted the illness.
Nowadays, it isn’t as expected because it is identified a lot quicker and treated with penicillin.
“Neurobic Exercises for Your Brain These types of exercises combine different senses to give your head a workout that is new and interesting. The senses, smell, taste, hearing, touch, and vision can all help to stimulate different parts of the brain.
They also promote an increase in the production of brain nutrients, which helps with memory. Some of them will seem strange at first, but if you do them regularly, they will help your gray matter stay healthy and alert.
Closed Eyes While Showering
If you shower with your eyes closed, you have to rely on other senses such as touch because you can’t see what you are doing. Touching will send different messages to your brain than seeing. Try it; you will find it an exciting experience, but remember to be cautious with hot water!
Use Your Non-Dominant Hand to Brush Your Teeth
By using your non-dominant hand, you are utilizing the side of the brain you would not usually use to brush your teeth. This exercise can cause a substantial increase in the areas of the cortex that process information from the hands.
Turn Things Upside Down
As you look at something familiar, your left brain labels the object then shifts your attention to somewhere else. By turning the object upside down, the other side of your brain is activated and tries to work out the different details of the object. Good things to use are a calendar with pictures on it, photographs of close friends or family, or even a small clock.
Change Up Your Mornings
Most people go through the same routine every morning, and this becomes automatic. But, when you do things differently, the brain will start to notice other things that it hadn’t noted before. Instead of getting dressed before breakfast, get dressed afterward. Or drive a different route to work, maybe even watch a children’s cartoon. Things that you wouldn’t usually do stimulate the brain.
