TY - JOUR
T1 - Ecological assessment of executive functions in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease
AU - Espinosa, Ana
AU - Alegret, Montserrat
AU - Boada, Mercè
AU - Vinyes, Georgina
AU - Valero, Sergi
AU - Martínez-Lage, Pablo
AU - Peña-Casanova, Jordi
AU - Becker, James T.
AU - Wilson, Barbara A.
AU - Tárraga, Lluís
PY - 2009/1/1
Y1 - 2009/1/1
N2 - Although memory deficits are typically the earliest and most profound symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there is increasing recognition of subtle executive dysfunctions in these patients. The purpose of the present study was to determine the sensitivity of the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), and to detect early specific signs of the dysexecutive syndrome in the transition from normal cognition to dementia. The BADS was administered to 50 MCI subjects, 50 mild AD patients, and 50 normal controls. Statistically significant differences were found among the three groups with the AD patients performing most poorly, and the MCI subjects performing between controls and AD patients. The Rule Shift Cards and the Action Program subtests were the most highly discriminative between MCI and controls; the Zoo Map and Modified Six Elements between MCI and AD; and the Action Program, Zoo Map, and Modified Six Elements between AD and controls. These results demonstrate that the BADS is clinically useful in discriminating between normal cognition and progressive neurodegenerative conditions. Furthermore, these data confirm the presence of a dysexecutive syndrome even in mildly impaired elderly subjects. © 2009 The International Neuropsychological Society.
AB - Although memory deficits are typically the earliest and most profound symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), there is increasing recognition of subtle executive dysfunctions in these patients. The purpose of the present study was to determine the sensitivity of the Behavioral Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), and to detect early specific signs of the dysexecutive syndrome in the transition from normal cognition to dementia. The BADS was administered to 50 MCI subjects, 50 mild AD patients, and 50 normal controls. Statistically significant differences were found among the three groups with the AD patients performing most poorly, and the MCI subjects performing between controls and AD patients. The Rule Shift Cards and the Action Program subtests were the most highly discriminative between MCI and controls; the Zoo Map and Modified Six Elements between MCI and AD; and the Action Program, Zoo Map, and Modified Six Elements between AD and controls. These results demonstrate that the BADS is clinically useful in discriminating between normal cognition and progressive neurodegenerative conditions. Furthermore, these data confirm the presence of a dysexecutive syndrome even in mildly impaired elderly subjects. © 2009 The International Neuropsychological Society.
KW - Aging
KW - Cognition
KW - Dementia
KW - Neuropsychology
KW - The behavioural assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome
KW - Zoo map test
U2 - 10.1017/S135561770999035X
DO - 10.1017/S135561770999035X
M3 - Article
VL - 15
SP - 751
EP - 757
JO - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
JF - Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
SN - 1355-6177
IS - 5
ER -