Neurocognitive Disorders: Lifespan Perspectives

[Page 2227]Neurocognitive disorders may be defined as a group of syndromes whose chief presenting picture is a deficit in cognitive functioning from mild to severe, and the disorders develop as a result of known or surmised brain disease or brain insult. Neurocognitive disorders may also be identified at any point across the lifespan. For example, neurocognitive disorders can manifest at birth, such as with fetal alcohol syndrome or cerebral palsy, or later in childhood, as a result of head injuries, although much of the focus on neurocognitive disorders is on later adult life as in dementias (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, prion disease). The cognitive dysfunction may include problems in attention, decision making (e.g., executive functions), learning problems, poor memory, language comprehension problems, ...