IMPAIRED MEMORY & CONCENTRATION
Unfortunately, there is little published scientific literature that specifically addresses the impact of gentamicin poisoning on concentration or memory, although a very common complaint of gentamicin poisoning victims is a frustrating lack of concentration and ability to plan and carry out complex tasks, coupled with short-term memory loss.
According to the Vestibular Disorders Association, the cognitive and psychological symptoms of vestibular disorders can include:
- Difficulty concentrating and paying attention; easily distracted
- Forgetfulness and short-term memory lapses
- Confusion, disorientation, difficulty comprehending directions or instructions
- Difficulty following speakers in conversations, meetings, etc., especially when there is background noise or movement
- Mental and/or physical fatigue out of proportion to activity
- Loss of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-esteem
- Anxiety, panic
- Depression
Dr. Timothy Hain, a neurologist at Northwestern University in Chicago who has studied balance disorders and gentamicin ototoxity extensively, notes on his website:
Many people with bilateral vestibulopathy complain of a mild confusion or "brain fog", which is attributed to the increased attention needed to maintain balance and good vision, due to loss of vestibular input. Others call it "inability to multi-task". It is thought that in persons with bilateral vestibular loss, the ongoing extra effort needed to keep ones balance reduces the amount of attention that is available for other thinking tasks. Considerable evidence for this can be found in the recent literature (Andersson et al, 2003; Pellecchia, 2003; Redfern et al, 2003). Persons with other vestibular disorders often complain of difficulty concentrating and mental fatigue (Yardley et al. 1998). Complete web page here.
Scientific papers relating vestibular disorder to impaired memory or concentration:
Pellechia GL - Postural sway increases with attentional demands of concurrent cognitive task
- Balaban CD and Thayer JF. Neurological bases for balance–anxiety links
- Hanes DA and others. Cognitive-vestibular interactions: a review of patient difficulties and possible mechanisms
- Borel L and others. Vestibular syndrome: A change in internal spatial representation
- Gazzola JM and others. Factors relating to depressive symptoms among elderly people with chronic vestibular dysfunction
- Peruch P and others. Vestibular information is necessary for maintaining metric properties of representational space: Evidence from mental imagery
- Bessot N and others. Interference between walking and a cognitive task is increased in patients with bilateral vestibular loss
- Caiexeta CGS and others. Cognitive processing and body balance in elderly subjects with vestibular dysfunction
- Smith PF. Dyscalculia and vestibular function
- Gurvich C and others. Vestibular insights into cognition and psychiatry
- Moser I and others. Impaired math achievement in patients with acute vestibular neuritis