From Morris Water Maze to computer tests in the prediction of Alzheimer's disease.
BACKGROUND
Spatial navigation performance in the Hidden Goal Task (HGT), a real-space human analogue of the Morris Water Maze, can identify amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients with memory impairment of the hippocampal type, a known indicator of incipient Alzheimer's disease (AD).


OBJECTIVE
Contrast results from computer versus real-space versions of the HGT.


METHODS
A total of 42 aMCI patients were clinically and neuropsychologically classified into: (1) memory impairment of the hippocampal type--the hippocampal aMCI (HaMCI; n = 10) and (2) isolated retrieval impairment--the nonhippocampal aMCI (NHaMCI; n = 32). Results were compared to the control (n = 28) and AD (n = 21) groups.


RESULTS
The HaMCI group, although similar to the NHaMCI group with respect to overall cognitive impairment, performed poorer on the computer version of the HGT and yielded parallel results to the real-space version. The two versions were strongly correlated.


CONCLUSIONS
Both versions of the HGT can reliably identify aMCI with pronounced memory impairment of the hippocampal type. The computer version of the HGT may be a useful, relatively inexpensive screening tool for early detection of individuals at a high risk of AD.
International Clinical Research Center, St Anne's University Hospital Brno, Brno, Czech Republic. jakub.hort@seznam.cz
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Laczó
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Andel
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Vyhnalek
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Vlcek
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Magerova
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Varjassyova
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Nedelska
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Gazova
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Bojar
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Sheardova
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Hort
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology*