Q&A ABOUT OUR WORK

What is a neurocognitive disorder?

Neurocognitive disorders are a group of disorders that can affect one or more thinking abilities such as memory, learning, language, attention, and problem solving. There are many different causes of neurocognitive disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body disease, vascular dementia, substance abuse, and brain injury or stroke.

what is neuropsychology?

Neuropsychology is an discipline that involves studying how thoughts and behaviours relate to the brain. Neuropsychologists aim to understand, diagnose, and treat neurological (brain) disorders. Neuropsychological assessment (or cognitive assessment) involves a clinical interview, questionnaires and paper-and-pencil tests to gain a sense of a person’s thinking abilities (memory, attention, language, problem-solving abilities). 

What is dementia?

Dementia is a broad term meaning that a person's thinking skills have worsened to the point that they are having difficulty managing their normal day-to-day responsibilities. Dementia can have many causes. The most common cause is the abnormal accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain (this is called 'Alzheimer's disease'), but dementia can also be caused by the accumulation of other types of abnormal proteins in the brain (such as in 'Lewy body dementia'), a stroke ('vascular dementia') or alcohol abuse ('Korsakoff's dementia'). In order to differentiate between causes of dementia, clinicians use cognitive assessments, blood tests, and brain scans.

what is alzheimer's disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. Individuals with Alzheimer’s disease often experience memory loss, impaired thinking abilities, confusion, and problems with speech. This disease is degenerative and currently irreversible.

What is the difference between dementia and alzheimer's disease?

Dementia refers to a set of symptoms, but not the cause of the symptoms. Alzheimer’s disease can be one cause of these symptoms.