Attention and working memory deficits in mild cognitive impairment.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has emerged as a classification for a prodromal phase of cognitive decline preceding the emergence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined neuropsychological functioning in a sample of 60 adults with amnestic-MCI (a-MCI), 32 with subjective complaints of memory impairment (subjective-MCI, s-MCI), 14 with mild AD, and 25 age-matched controls. Both the a-MCI and s-MCI groups displayed impaired attentional processing, working memory capacity, and semantic language, with a-MCI displaying additional impairments to verbal and/or visual memory. These results indicate that further research is needed to examine cognitive decline in nonamnestic variants of MCI.
Saunders
Nichole L J
NL
School of Psychology, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
Summers
Mathew J
MJ
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric