title: Subjective rating of executive functions in mild Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Subjective cognitive decline is considered to be a core feature of pre-Alzheimer's disease (AD) conditions, the vast majority of literature having focused on memory concerns. Neuropsychological studies have implicated executive dysfunction on objective performance measures in AD, but no research has evaluated whether individuals with AD have concerns about their executive functions and whether it differs from their caregiver's concerns. In the present study, we sought to evaluate self- and informant ratings of executive functioning in patients with mild AD.
  
  
  
  Participants were 23 patients with mild AD and 32 healthy elderly controls (HC) and their informants who completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult version.
  
  
  
  Patients with AD and their informants reported greater executive dysfunction than the HC group and their informants, respectively, and patients reported greater difficulty than their informants. The largest effect size for both self- and informant ratings was obtained for the Working Memory scale.
  
  
  
  These findings indicate that subjective cognitive concerns in mild AD extend beyond the memory domain to executive functions. That greater difficulty was endorsed by patients than their informants suggests that at least in the mild stage of AD some awareness of executive dysfunction may be maintained in some patients. Implications for clinical care are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry and Division of Geriatric Medicine , Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University , London , Ontario , Canada.|b Specialized Geriatric Services , Parkwood Institute , London , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fogarty
authors.affiliation: c Neuropsychology Program, Department of Psychiatry , Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth , One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon , NH , USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Almklov
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry and Division of Geriatric Medicine , Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University , London , Ontario , Canada.|b Specialized Geriatric Services , Parkwood Institute , London , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Borrie
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychiatry and Division of Geriatric Medicine , Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University , London , Ontario , Canada.|b Specialized Geriatric Services , Parkwood Institute , London , Ontario , Canada.
authors.forename: Jennie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: c Neuropsychology Program, Department of Psychiatry , Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth , One Medical Center Drive, Lebanon , NH , USA.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Roth
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Mild Cognitive Impairment; cognitive functioning