People with dementia struggle to adapt to changes in their environment because of damage to areas of the brain known as 'multiple demand networks', highly evolved areas of the brain that support general intelligence, say scientists at the University of Cambridge.

There are many different types of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which are characterized by the build-up of different toxic proteins in different parts of the brain. This means that the symptoms of dementia vary, and can include problems with memory, speech, behavior or vision. But one symptom seen across every type of dementia is a difficulty in responding to unexpected situations.

• Tags:
• News