[Neuropsychological study of an autonomous aged population].
In order to adjust the tests used in a study on degenerative dementia a group of independent aged volunteers has been formed and submitted to neuropsychological tests on instrumental functioning. Among them: 25% obtained normal results - 55% showed light instrumental deficiencies which were however not significant of brain damage - 22% had a global impairment of instrumental functions but without memory troubles. This relatively high percentage of impaired old people posed the problem of the normality of the sample chosen. As it mostly came from elderly communities it is possible to think that these gather more or less psychically or socially disfavoured aged people. The frequency of cortical impairments urges to think that they should be followed up to determine whether these symptoms are normal or if these are the signs of a degenerative evolution; in which case the neuropsychological approach would no longer be selective.
D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D008606:Mental Processes; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D011581:Psychological Tests
Etude neuropsychologique d'une population âgée autonome