Cognitive neurology

Service detail

What is cognitive neurology?

Cognitive neurology is the field that deals with brain diseases which primarily affect thinking. Difficulty with remembering events, worsening gradually, is the characteristic problem in classical Alzheimer-type dementia, and this is the serious brain disease most often diagnosed in cognitive neurology clinics. With a UK prevalence of up to a million, dementia vies with headache disorders and vascular disease (including stroke) as the most common of the diseases within The Walton Centre's remit.

In cognitive neurology we work closely with colleagues in memory clinics, which tend to be based locally within mental health services. However, cognitive neurology differs from memory clinic practice in being more specifically concerned with diagnosing the unusual cases of disordered memory, or of impaired cognition more generally (which sometimes may have additional medical features, or arise in specific circumstances such as at young age or with family history).

We receive referrals from GPs, from memory clinics in the region, from clinics in other hospitals and from general clinics within The Walton Centre itself.

The Walton Centre cognitive neurology services

Two cognitive neurology clinics are held each week at The Walton Centre. We work closely with various specialties within the Trust, including neuroradiology, neuropsychiatry and laboratory neuroscience. Our closest collaboration is with the neuropsychology department, which can provide detailed measurement and assessment of cognitive performance.