A decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life

A disease involving memory loss that is entirely separate from Alzheimer's disease

A mental illness that's usually alleviated through meditation

What sort of memory lapse would be cause for concern?

You forget the way to your local grocery store.

You forget the name of the movie you saw last week, then remember it a few hours later.

You forget where you last put your keys.

You go to the grocery store for milk, then buy five other things and forget the milk.

What has been shown to decrease brain functioning in healthy adults?

Frequent socializing (besides intellectual gatherings, such as book groups)

Little cognitive aids or devices that help you remember things

Antioxidants that have been shown to boost brainpower

Medications for chronic forgetfulness that are now sold over the counter

Games, such as crossword puzzles, that improve memory and cognitive ability

What is transient global amnesia?

A sudden attack of memory loss in which one can't remember any recent events

A common affliction of people who are traveling, characterized by the inability to remember what country one is in

A cultural phenomenon in which a group of people forget their collective, often-traumatic history

When people wake up from anesthesia and for several days can't remember anything about their past, including their own name

A smiling woman with a string on her finger, forgetfulness quiz.

Memory Quiz

Test your smarts about normal forgetfulness and early signs of dementia

Christina Ianzito,

En español

Published October 24, 2012

/ Updated November 15, 2022

9 Questions

039ca329-ac7c-4339-9b51-1257a380b537

Memory Quiz

Quiz Progress

0 Correct

0 Incorrect

get help and give help through AARP Community Connections

Caption for quiz image

Credit for quiz image

NEED A HINT?

CLOSE HINT

CORRECT

INCORRECT

Answer:

Memory Quiz

0 Correct

0 Incorrect

Score:

Oops...something went wrong. Please log out and log back in to continue.

Christina Ianzito is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist who joined AARP in 2010. She’s the travel and books editor for aarp.org and AARP The Magazine and also edits and writes health, entertainment and other stories for aarp.org. She received a 2020 Lowell Thomas Award for travel writing.