Loss of executive function goes beyond decision-making, says UCI Health neurologist
Ability to organize and retrieve memories declines as we age
August 08, 2024
IN THE NEWS: Cognitive decline is an inevitability of aging, but the experience varies from person to person. The symptoms commonly come on at different speeds and intensities.
One such symptom is a loss of executive function, says UCI Health neurologist Dr. Mark Fisher, who spoke to Business Insider about how it manifests.
"Executive function is oftentimes thought of as reflecting decision-making capability. It goes beyond that. It also involves the organizing, planning, multitasking and retrieving of information from working memory."
He notes that while issues with memory loss or language are easy to diagnose, executive dysfunction can be a little more challenging to identify.
Fisher is a professor in the Department of Neurology at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. He was the founding director of what eventually became the UCI Health Stroke & Cerebrovascular Center, which is among the first stroke programs in the nation to earn national certification as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission.
Fisher has repeatedly been named a Physician of Excellence by the Orange County Medical Association. Fisher is the author or co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications on the topics of stroke and vascular neurobiology.
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