Impairment in Proverb Interpretation as an Executive Function Deficit in Patients with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Early Alzheimer’s Disease

Background/Aims: Proverb interpretation is assumed to reflect executive functions. We hypothesized that proverb interpretation is impaired in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) diagnosed as single-domain impairment by common neuropsychological testing. Methods: We compared perfo...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Thomas Leyhe, Ralf Saur, Gerhard W. Eschweiler, Monika Milian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Karger Publishers 2011-01-01
Series:Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/323864
Description
Summary:Background/Aims: Proverb interpretation is assumed to reflect executive functions. We hypothesized that proverb interpretation is impaired in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) diagnosed as single-domain impairment by common neuropsychological testing. Methods: We compared performance in a proverb interpretation test in single-domain aMCI patients and patients with early Alzheimer’s disease (EAD). Results: The groups with aMCI and EAD performed significantly worse than healthy controls. Both patient groups gave concrete answers with a similar frequency. However, patients with EAD tended to give senseless answers more frequently. Conclusions: Our data suggest that in patients diagnosed as single-domain aMCI, deterioration of executive functions is detectable with subtle and appropriate neuropsychological testing. Implementation of these procedures may improve the early prediction of AD.
ISSN:1664-5464