Behavioral Neurology

Memory/personality disorders, affective disorders, anxiety neurosis, hallucinations and delusions can all be manifestations of a neurological, rather than psychiatric problem. It is the difference between an organic/structural brain disorder and a functional one. In practice, the dividing line is not always clear. Behavioral neurology is the neurology of psychiatry and can include disorders of the brain that affect memory, language, visuospatial functioning, judgment/problem solving, or personality/behavior.

Symptoms can include:

  • Forgetfulness
  • Confusion
  • Disorientation
  • Language difficulties
  • Poor judgement
  • Poor problem-solving abilities
  • Personality/behavior changes
  • Tendency to get lost
  • Delusions
  • Hallucinations
  • Aggressive behavior

Conditions include neurodegenerative diseases and disorders of higher cognitive function:

  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • Degenerative Disorders/Dementia
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment
  • Parkinson's Disease with Dementia
  • Lewy Body Dementia/Lewy Body Disease/Dementia with Lewy Bodies
  • Frontotemporal Dementia/Pick's Disease
  • Primary Progressive Aphasia
  • Corticobasal Degeneration
  • Progressive Cortical Visual Dysfunction Syndrome/Posterior Cortical Atrophy
  • Progressive Visuospatial/Visuoperceptual Syndrome
  • Huntington's Disease
  • Vascular Dementia
  • Multi-Infarct Dementia
  • Binswanger's Disease
  • Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL)
  • Prion Disorders
  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD)
  • Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker Syndrome
  • Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH)
  • Autoimmune/Inflammatory Encephalopathies
  • Steroid Responsive Encephalopathy Associated with Autoimmune Thyroiditis/ Hashimoto's Encephalopathy
  • Sjogren's Associated Encephalopathy
  • Nonvasculitic Autoimmune Inflammatory Meningoencephalopathy (NAIM)
  • Cognitive Impairment/Behavioral Changes associated with Head Trauma, Brain Tumors, Encephalitis, Stroke and Sleep Disorders

This page was last updated on 04/20/05.

Contact Us

For your convenience, we offer several options for scheduling an appointment.
Request an Appointment Online.

Phone

(866) 426-7787
(212) 746-4684

Office Hours

Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Emergency Department,
NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell

(212) 746-5026

Top of page