Narinder Kapur, PhD, Dip Psych, University College London, London, UK, introduces functional cognitive disorder (FCD), a relatively common but under-recognized cause of cognitive symptoms. This term refers to patients experiencing cognitive symptoms that are associated with distress or disability but that don’t have a clear medical cause. These symptoms, often memory-related, are caused by functional alterations and don’t align with known psychiatric conditions or neurological disorders. Symptoms often have a sudden onset and show internal inconsistency. Patients might exhibit comorbid conditions such as fatigue, sleep issues, pain, or anxiety. They could also show attentional problems, tending to hyper-focus on their symptoms, fearing conditions like dementia. Notably, a discrepancy between subjective reports and objective measures is common in FCD, with individuals often performing well on neuropsychological tests, unlike those with organic conditions. These features help distinguish functional cognitive disorders from other conditions. This interview took place at the 18th Annual Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy 2024) in London, UK.
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