Trouble finding words
Even a healthy 40-year-old can catch herself having trouble coming up with someone’s name. But later in life, difficulty remembering vocabulary basics—like words for often-used items from “toaster” to “steering wheel”—could be a sign of cognitive problems.
“This is caused by difficulty in the parts of the brain that control language, usually in the left temporal or parietal lobe, and it can also be a first sign of Alzheimer’s disease, other neurodegenerative disorders, a structural brain lesion or stroke-related damage,” Dr. Holtzman explains.
