
Poor navigational skills could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study.
Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis suggest that people who have trouble remembering directions in new surroundings may be showing early symptoms of the progressive disease that affects memory. Findings from their small study were published Tuesday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
“These findings suggest that navigational tasks designed to assess a [mental] mapping strategy could represent a powerful new tool for detecting the very earliest Alzheimer’s disease-related changes in cognition,” the study’s author Denise Head, who is the associate professor of psychological and brain sciences at Washington University, told UPI.
The researchers also noted that having difficulty navigating through new neighborhoods does not necessarily signal Alzheimer’s development.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com