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Ecological assessment of executive functions in mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer’s disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

ANA ESPINOSA ,
MONTSERRAT ALEGRET ,
MERCÈ BOADA ,
GEORGINA VINYES ,
SERGI VALERO ,
PABLO MARTÍNEZ-LAGE ,
JORDI PEÑA-CASANOVA ,
JAMES T BECKER ,
BARBARA A. WILSON  and
LLUÍS TÁRRAGA
ANA ESPINOSA
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain
MONTSERRAT ALEGRET*
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain
MERCÈ BOADA
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain Neurology Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
GEORGINA VINYES
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain
SERGI VALERO
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain Psychiatry Department, Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
PABLO MARTÍNEZ-LAGE
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain
JORDI PEÑA-CASANOVA
Affiliation:
Section of Behavioral Neurology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona & Municipal Institute of Medical Research, Barcelona, Spain
JAMES T BECKER
Affiliation:
Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Psychology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BARBARA A. WILSON
Affiliation:
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, England
LLUÍS TÁRRAGA
Affiliation:
Fundació ACE, Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, Barcelona, Spain
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Montserrat Alegret, Ph.D. Fundació ACE. Institut Català de Neurociències Aplicades, C/ Marquès de Sentmenat, 35-37, 08014 Barcelona, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

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. (JINS, 2009, 15, 751–757.)

Keywords

The Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive SyndromeZoo Map TestCognitionDementiaAgingNeuropsychology
Type
Research Articles
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 15 , Issue 5 , September 2009 , pp. 751 - 757
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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