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Cognitive Impairment

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Synonyms

Cognitive deficit; Cognitive disorder

Definition

Cognitive impairment refers to problems people have with cognitive functions such as thinking, reasoning, memory, or attention.

Description

Cognitive impairment can be present at any point in a person’s lifespan (Kolb, & Whishaw, 2009). Early in life, cognitive impairment may arise from, for example, genetic syndromes, prenatal drug and alcohol exposure, trauma, or oxygen deprivation during or after birth.

Cognitive impairment in childhood and adolescence may result from a number of conditions. Examples include malnutrition, heavy metal exposure, metabolic disorders, trauma to the brain, and side effects of drug treatments for cancer or Parkinson’s disease (Ogden, 2005).

With age conditions such as traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease, stroke, brain tumors, and brain infections can cause cognitive impairment.

In some cases, cognitive impairment is reversible if the cause is identified and...

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References and Readings

  • Hebben, N., & Milberg, W. (2009). Essentials of neuropsychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York: Wiley.

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  • Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. (2009). Fundamentals of human neuropsychology (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers.

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  • Lezak, M., Howieson, D., & Loring, D. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment (4th ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Ogden, J. A. (2005). Fractured minds: A case-study approach to clinical neuropsychology (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Strauss, E. (2006). A compendium of neuropsychological tests: Administration, norms and commentary (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo, ESC 330, University of Waterloo 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Dr. Eric Roy Ph.D., C.Psych.

Authors
  1. Dr. Eric Roy Ph.D., C.Psych.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric Roy Ph.D., C.Psych. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Roy, E. (2013). Cognitive Impairment. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1118

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_1118

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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