title: Alerting and orienting in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Recently, researchers (E. Festa-Martino, B. R. Ott, & W. C. Heindel, 2004; A. Tales, J. L. Muir, A. Bayer, R. Jones, & R. J. Snowden, 2002; A. Tales, J. L. Muir, A. Bayer, & R. J. Snowden, 2002 have found significantly abnormal spatial orienting together with the abolishment of the alerting effect in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, these research groups differed in their interpretation of the results. A. Tales, J. L. Muir, A. Bayer, R. Jones, and R. J. Snowden (2002) and A. Tales, J. L. Muir, A. Bayer, and R. J. Snowden (2002) explained their data in terms of two independent processes, whereas E. Festa-Martino et al. (2004) interpreted their findings as indicative of an inverse association, namely that the increased spatial orienting effect in AD was the direct result of the abolition of the phasic alerting effect. In this further study examining exogenous spatial orienting and phasic alerting, the authors present evidence to suggest that the increased spatial orienting effect in AD is not the result of a decreased phasic alerting effect.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences, Department of Care of the Elderly, University of Bristol, The BRACE Centre, Blackberry Hill Hospital, Bristol, United Kingdom. andrea.tales@nbt.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tales
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Snowden
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wilcock
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology