How the Brain Can Hide Problems with Memory, Communication and Thinking
Show: Dr. House: Living with and Beyond Disability
Guest(s)
Dr. Anna Barrett, MD
Topic
How the Brain Can Fool Us
Topic Info
People with diverse conditions such as Alzheimer Disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, psychiatric problems like schizophrenia, or even movement problems like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) or Parkinson Disease can lose the ability to remember facts and names, to communicate clearly or with well-articulated speech of appropriate volume, and to regulate and schedule tasks. These challenges pose a direct obstacle to function and freedom, but are even more difficult for sufferers because the brain usually cannot monitor and identify what’s wrong—the sufferer may be the last one to know.
Many sufferers will state with confidence that their memory, speech and language, and thinking is normal. Evidence seems to indicate that this is more than a protective psychological reaction, but is part of the brain disorder itself. In this segment, we will talk about why the brain “fools us” into thinking things are normal when we make memory, communication, or thinking slips—and what this means for professional caregivers, families, and our medical culture and society, since patient self-reporting is now becoming a major source of information about treatment need and efficacy.
Many sufferers will state with confidence that their memory, speech and language, and thinking is normal. Evidence seems to indicate that this is more than a protective psychological reaction, but is part of the brain disorder itself. In this segment, we will talk about why the brain “fools us” into thinking things are normal when we make memory, communication, or thinking slips—and what this means for professional caregivers, families, and our medical culture and society, since patient self-reporting is now becoming a major source of information about treatment need and efficacy.
Guest Info
Originally from South Bend, Indiana, Anna M. Barrett, MD is a cognitive neurologist and clinical researcher, and Director of Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Research Center. She is also a Stroke Program leader and Co-Director in the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation, and Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School (UMDNJ-NJMS). Her clinical and research focus is on brain-behavior relationships from a cognitive neurology, cognitive neuroscience, and cognitive neurorehabilitation perspective.
A member of the American Academy of Neurology (Behavioral Neurology and Neural Repair and Rehabilitation sections, Executive Committee), the American Society of Neurorehabilition (President 2010-2012), and the International Neuropsychological Society (first INS early career award, 2008), Dr. Barrett completed undergraduate work at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, medical school training at New York University School of Medicine, neurology residency training at Columbia-Presbyterian/The Neurological Institute, and fellowship in Behavioral Neurology/ Neuropsychology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She received the 2007 Norman Geschwind Prize from the American Academy of Neurology for outstanding behavioral neurology research, and her work has been continuously funded by the NIH since she founded an independent laboratory in 1999. Currently, she mentors students, resident physicians, and post-doctoral trainees in translational neuroscience of rehabilitation. Her publications span all domains of post-stroke cognitive dysfunction, but emphasize hidden disabilities of functional vision (spatial bias and spatial neglect). Other research studies concern hidden disabilities affecting speech and language (aphasia) and memory.
A member of the American Academy of Neurology (Behavioral Neurology and Neural Repair and Rehabilitation sections, Executive Committee), the American Society of Neurorehabilition (President 2010-2012), and the International Neuropsychological Society (first INS early career award, 2008), Dr. Barrett completed undergraduate work at Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges, medical school training at New York University School of Medicine, neurology residency training at Columbia-Presbyterian/The Neurological Institute, and fellowship in Behavioral Neurology/ Neuropsychology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. She received the 2007 Norman Geschwind Prize from the American Academy of Neurology for outstanding behavioral neurology research, and her work has been continuously funded by the NIH since she founded an independent laboratory in 1999. Currently, she mentors students, resident physicians, and post-doctoral trainees in translational neuroscience of rehabilitation. Her publications span all domains of post-stroke cognitive dysfunction, but emphasize hidden disabilities of functional vision (spatial bias and spatial neglect). Other research studies concern hidden disabilities affecting speech and language (aphasia) and memory.
Website
Host
Dr. Glen House
Original Air Date
12 / 6 / 2011
