What are the most common cognitive disorders?

Cognitive disorders or neurocognitive disorders are mental health disorders that are known to cause cognitive impairments in the lines of learning, memory, perception, and problem-solving. They have acquired diseases that represent a decline in one’s physical and mental health. Cognitive disorders can fall under delirium or mild and major neurocognitive disorders.

The treatment of cognitive disorders varies with each disease where these disorders manifest. Here are some of the most common cognitive disorders affiliated with neurological conditions.

Delirium: Delirium is defined as a disturbance in one’s consciousness that occurs in a short period of time which results in a rapid change between mental states. Sub-categories of delirium include substance intoxication delirium, substance withdrawal delirium, and unspecified delirium that occurs when symptoms of different neurocognitive disorders are present, but the cause is unknown.

Dementia: Dementia is the loss of brain functions more commonly taking place in parts of the brain responsible for memory. It may also cause other cognitive impairments. Diseases related to dementia include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, dementia due to Parkinson’s disease, dementia due to multiple etiologies, substance-induced persisting dementia, and many other forms due to neurological disorders.

Symptoms of cognitive disorders are often shared by diseases that affect the brain’s ability to function. Some of the more recognizable symptoms include rapid changes in mental state, poor or short-term memory, learning difficulties, inability to recognize languages, disorganized thinking, and memory problems.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a neuroengineer with a diverse multidisciplinary background that includes software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, psychology, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. He founded the Crossroads Institute, and now heads the research and development teams as the developer of Cognitive Repair for Brain Disorders technology. For more information on cognitive disorders, visit this page.