HD patients have difficulty seeing things from alternative perspectives. They cannot easily put themselves in another person's shoes, and appreciate how another person may be feeling. Difficulty in thinking forward and in mental flexibility also means that people with HD can have difficulty seeing the repercussions of their own behaviour. They are not able to see the practical or emotional consequences that their behaviour may have on other people. Memory in HD Poor memory is a common complaint of HD sufferers and their families.
Memory problems arising from brain disease can occur for different reasons.
They may potentially result from a fundamental problem in information storage, occurring because of damage to the parts of the brain which are critical for laying down memories. However, the efficiency with which we remember is also determined by our mental activity as we take information in and retrieve it. If, in listening to a conversation, we engage our attention fully, actively think over what is being said, and consider how it matches up with our own experiences or opinions, then we will remember the conversation more effectively than if we listen only passively, or have our minds on other things. Similarly, in recalling a past event, if we actively recreate in our minds the situational context of the event, then we will recall details more effectively than if we wait purely passively for the details to come to mind. There are reasons to think that HD memory problems relate to those secondary factors - what the person does with information as it is taken in and retrieved, rather than a primary problem in the ability to lay down or store memories.