Cognitive impairments associated with HIV occur in the domains of attention, memory, verbal fluency, and visuospatial construction. Specifically for memory, the lowered activity of the hippocampus changes the basis for memory encoding and affects mechanisms such as long-term potentiation. Severity of impairment in different domains varies depending on whether or not a patient is being treated with HAART or monotherapy. Studies have shown that patients exhibit cognitive deficits consistent with dysfunction of fronto-striatal circuits including associated parietal areas, the latter of which may account for observed deficits in visuospatial function. In addition to cognitive impairments, psychological dysfunction is also noted. For example, patients with HIV have higher rates of clinical depression and alexithymia, i.e., difficulty processing or recognizing one's own emotions. Patients also have more difficulty recognizing facial emotions. Without combination antiretroviral therapy, cognitive impairments increase with successive stages of HIV. HIV patients in early stages show mild difficulties in concentration and attention. In advanced cases of HIV-associated dementia, speech delay, motor dysfunction, and impaired thought and behavior are observed. Specifically, lower motor speeds were found to correlate with hypertrophy of the right putamen. The diagnosis of HIV-associated<unk>  impairment is made using clinical criteria after considering and ruling out other possible causes. The severity of<unk>  impairment is associated with nadir CD4, suggesting that earlier treatment to prevent immunosuppression due to HIV may help prevent<unk> s.
HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder
Variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease
HIV/AIDS
Alcohol-related dementia
Saint Louis encephalitis
Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders
Steroid dementia syndrome