Where are the keys? What did I go into the kitchen for? Should I be worrying about my -- you know, that thing, memory? Or is this just what happens to everyone with age?

Here are answers to common questions about memory loss, gleaned from interviews with three experts: neuroscientist James McGaugh of the University of California, Irvine; Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Memory Clinic and the UCLA Center on Aging; and Dr. William H. Thies, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association.

Q:I think I'm losing my mind. I agree to a meeting and then completely forget about it.Do I have Alzheimer's disease?

A: Forgetting things you have learned recently is a red flag for early Alzheimer's disease, our three experts say. ''The ability to consolidate and store new memories is the first thing to go,'' McGaugh says. ``Established memories hang out for a long time.''

Alzheimer's sufferers might still have a rich recall of childhood memories and beloved songs, but not remember the name of a grandchild.

But the significance of such memory lapses depends on how forgetful you always have been and whether you were paying attention when you learned someone's name or set off to get something in the next room.

''You never really learn it if you don't pay attention,'' says Small, author of The Memory Bible and a new book, iBrain.

When a person who has always been meticulous about keeping appointments starts missing them, that is a worrisome change. A person who has always been a bit disorganized or easily distracted might have other problems, including attention deficit disorder or chronic depression.

Q: Maybe I'm just getting older. But at work, what used to take me two hours to do now takes four. I've always been sharp and fast on the job, but I'm not performing at my peak.

A: Struggling with familiar tasks and experiencing problems with abstract thinking can be early indications of Alzheimer's disease. The aging brain can compensate for its declining performance for many years: It knows more about the world and its patterns than a younger, swifter brain. But if established work routines don't come as easily as they did, perhaps the benefits of age are being undermined by disease.

Sometimes, making mistakes doing things that are virtually automatic gives us a sign that something's wrong. When dad takes a left turn instead of a right to head home from the grocery store, that should not be dismissed as absent-mindedness. Those with early Alzheimer's often become disoriented when performing familiar tasks.

Q: I misplace things. And when I'm talking, I am sometimes at a loss for the word I need. What's wrong?

A: Putting your glasses in the refrigerator or a pantry cabinet rather than on your bedside table may be a sign of a problem: Misplacing things in inappropriate places is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease.

It is also time to consult a memory specialist when you ask your spouse if she's seen your glasses and you have trouble thinking of the word for them, or if the word that comes out is not the right one.

The ''tip-of-the-tongue'' phenomenon, in which a word or a name is there one moment and vanishes the next, is a common and normal sign of age-related memory loss.

But when the words for familiar objects are elusive, and word substitutions, particularly those that seem peculiar, start happening with regularity, there may be cause for concern.

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