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

• 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: Non-literal language; Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Concrete thinking; Early Alzheimerߣs disease; Executive dysfunction; Neuropsychological testing
• Online Access: http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/323864

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.