Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dementias and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Little Black Book of Neuropsychology

Abstract

Dementia does not describe a specific disease entity, but rather describes a clinical syndrome characterized by a loss of previously acquired cognitive functions that adversely affects an individual’s ability to complete day to day activities. The decline in cognitive functioning is greater than what occurs during the normal aging process. This chapter will review prominent definitions of dementia and a number of the etiologies of this syndrome. The prodromal phase between dementia and normal aging, Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), is reviewed later in this chapter. Readers interested in a more detailed review of dementia syndromes and conditions presenting as dementia are referred to Mendez and Cummings (Dementia: a clinical approach, 3rd edn, Butterworth Heinemann, Philadelphia, 2003).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Psychiatric Association.(2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th ed., text revision ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Antinori, A., Arendt, G., Becker, J. T., et al. (2007). Updated research nosology for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Neurology, 69, 1789–1799.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ballard, C., O’Brien, J., Gray, A., et al. (2001). Attention and fluctuating attention in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer disease. Archives of Neurology, 58, 977–982.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baltes, P. B., & Mayer, K. U. (1999). The Berlin aging study: Aging from 70 to 100. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, D. E., Covinsky, K. E., Whitmer, R. A., Kuller, L. H., Lopez, O. L., & Yaffe, K. (2009). Predicting risk of dementia in older adults. The late-life dementia risk index. Neurology, 73, 173–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beatty, W. W., Ryder, K. A., Gontkovsky, S. T., Scott, J. G., McSwan, K. L., & Bharucha, K. J. (2003). Analyzing the subcortical dementia syndrome of Parkinson’s disease using the RBANS. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18, 509–520.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berent, S., Giordani, B., Gilman, S., et al. (2002). Patterns of neuropsychological performance in multiple system atrophy compared to sporadic and hereditary olivopontocerebellar atrophy. Brain and Cognition, 50, 194–206.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bhidayasiri, R., & Ling, H. (2008). Multiple system atrophy. The Neurologist, 14, 224–237.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boeve, B. F. (2007). Links between frontotemporal lobar degeneration, corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders, 21, S31–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bozeat, S., Gregory, C. A., Ralph, M. A., & Hodges, J. R. (2000). Which neuropsychiatric and behavioural features distinguish frontal and temporal variants of frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer’s disease? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 69, 178–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busse, A., Hensel, A., Gühne, U., Angermeyer, M. C., & Riedel-Heller, S. G. (2006). Mild cognitive impairment: Long-term course of four clinical subtypes. Neurology, 67, 2176–2185.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carnahan, R. M., Lund, B. C., Perry, P. J., Pollock, B. G., & Culp, K. R. (2006). The anticholinergic drug scale as a measure of drug-related anticholinergic burden: Associations with serum anticholinergic activity. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 46, 1481–1486.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chamberlain, S. R., & Sahakian, B. J. (2006). The neuropsychology of mood disorders. Current Psychiatry Reports, 8, 458–463.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, P., Ratcliff, G., Belle, S. H., Cauley, J. A., DeKosky, S. T., & Ganguli, M. (2000). Cognitive tests that best discriminate between presymptomatic AD and those who remain nondemented. Neurology, 55, 1847–1853.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, H., Henderson, A. S., Jorm, A. F., Mackinnon, A. J., Scott, R., & Korten, A. E. (1995). ICD-10 mild cognitive disorder: epidemiological evidence on its validity. Psychological Medicine, 25, 105–120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crook, T., Bartus, R. T., Ferris, S. H., Whitehouse, P., Cohen, G. D., & Gershon, S. (1986). Age-associated memory impairment: Proposed diagnostic criteria and measures of clinical change. Report of a National Institute of Mental Health Work Group. Developmental Neuropsychology, 2, 261–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawes, S., Suarez, P., Casey, C. Y., et al. (2008). Variable patterns of neuropsychological performance in HIV-1 infection. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 30, 613–626.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • de Leon, M. J., Convit, A., Wolf, O. T., et al. (2001). Prediction of cognitive decline in normal elderly subjects with 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose/positron-emission tomography (FDG/PET). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98, 10966–10971.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DeCarli, C., Mungas, D., Harvey, D., et al. (2004). Memory impairment, but not cerebrovascular disease, predicts progression of MCI to dementia. Neurology, 63, 220–227.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Devito, E. E., Pickard, J. D., Salmond, C. H., Iddon, J. L., Loveday, C., & Sahakian, B. J. (2005). The neuropsychology of normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). British Journal of Neurosurgery, 19, 217–224.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diehl, J., Monsch, A. U., Aebi, C., Wagenpfeil, S., Krapp, S., Grimmer, T., et al. (2005). Frontotemporal dementia, semantic dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease: the contribution of standard neuropsychological tests to differential diagnosis. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 18, 39–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dubois, B., Slachevsky, A., Pillon, B., Beato, R., Villalponda, J. M., & Litvan, I. (2005). “Applause sign” helps to discriminate PSP from FTD and PD. Neurology, 64, 2132–2133.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duff, K., Beglinger, L. J., Schultz, S. K., et al. (2007). Practice effects in the prediction of long-term cognitive outcome in three patient samples: A novel prognostic index. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 22, 15–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Emre, M., Aarsland, D., Brown, R., et al. (2007). Clinical diagnostic criteria for dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders, 22, 1689–1707. quiz 1837.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Esper, C. D., Weiner, W. J., & Factor, S. A. (2007). Progressive supranuclear palsy. Reviews in Neurological Diseases, 4, 209–216.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fleisher, A. S., Sowell, B. B., Taylor, C., Gamst, A. C., Petersen, R. C., & Thal, L. J. (2007). Clinical predictors of progression to Alzheimer disease in amnestic mild cognitive impairment. Neurology, 68, 1588–1595.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forman, M. S., Farmer, J., Johnson, J. K., et al. (2006). Frontotemporal dementia: Clinicopatho­logical correlations. Annals of Neurology, 59, 952–962.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graff-Radford, N. R. (2007). Normal pressure hydrocephalus. Neurologic Clinics, 25, 809–832. vii-viii.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Graham, J. E., Rockwood, K., Beattie, B. L., et al. (1997). Prevalence and severity of cognitive impairment with and without dementia in an elderly population. Lancet, 349, 1793–1796.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith, H. R., Netson, K. L., Harrell, L. E., Zamrini, E. Y., Brockington, J. C., & Marson, D. C. (2006). Amnestic mild cognitive impairment: Diagnostic outcomes and clinical prediction over a two-year time period. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 12, 166–175.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gutierrez, R., Atkinson, J. H., & Grant, I. (1993). Mild neurocognitive disorder: needed addition to the nosology of cognitive impairment (organic mental) disorders. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 5, 161–177.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hellstrom, P., Edsbagge, M., Archer, T., Tisell, M., Tullberg, M., & Wikkelso, C. (2007). The neuropsychology of patients with clinically diagnosed idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. Neurosurgery, 61, 1219–1226. discussion 1227–1218.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huey, E. D., Goveia, E. N., Paviol, S., Pardini, M., Krueger, F., Zamboni, G., et al. (2009). Executive dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia and corticobasal syndrome. Neurology, 72, 453–459.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, C. R., Jr., Petersen, R. C., Xu, Y. C., et al. (1999). Prediction of AD with MRI-based hippocampal volume in mild cognitive impairment. Neurology, 52, 1397–1403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jack, C. R., Jr., Petersen, R. C., Xu, Y., et al. (2000). Rates of hippocampal atrophy correlate with change in clinical status in aging and AD. Neurology, 55, 484–489.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jankovic, J. (2008). Parkinson’s disease: clinical features and diagnosis. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 79, 368–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. K., Morris, J. C., & Galvin, J. E. (2005). Verbal and visuospatial deficits in dementia with Lewy bodies. Neurology, 65, 1232–1238.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kawai, Y., Suenaga, M., Takeda, A., et al. (2008). Cognitive impairments in multiple system atrophy: MSA-C vs MSA-P. Neurology, 70, 1390–1396.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K. Y., Wood, B. E., & Wilson, M. I. (2005). Risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease: an overview for clinical practitioners. The Consultant Pharmacist, 20, 224–230.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kral, V. A. (1962). Senescent forgetfulness: Benign and malignant. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 86, 257–260.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Launer, L. J., Andersen, K., Dewey, M. E., et al. (1999). Rates and risk factors for dementia and Alzheimer’s disease: results from EURODEM pooled analyses. EURODEM Incidence Research Group and Work Groups. European Studies of Dementia. Neurology, 52, 78–84.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, R. (1994). Aging-associated cognitive decline. International Psychogeriatrics, 6, 63–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lubarsky, M., & Juncos, J. L. (2008). Progressive supranuclear palsy: a current review. The Neurologist, 14, 79–88.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luis, C. A., Barker, W. W., Loewenstein, D. A., et al. (2004). Conversion to dementia among two groups with cognitive impairment: A preliminary report. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 18, 307–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lund, Manchester. (1994). Clinical and neuropathological criteria for frontotemporal dementia. The Lund and Manchester Groups. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 57, 416–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald, S.W.S, Hultsch, D.F., & Dixon, R.A. (2008). Predicting impending death: Inconsistency in speed is a selective and early marker. Psychology and Aging, 23, 595–607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manly, J. J., Tang, M. X., Schupf, N., Stern, Y., Vonsattel, J. P., & Mayeux, R. (2008). Frequency and course of mild cognitive impairment in a multiethnic community. Annals of Neurology, 63, 494–506.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McKeith, I. G., Galasko, D., Kosaka, K., et al. (1996). Consensus guidelines for the clinical and pathologic diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): report of the consortium on DLB international workshop. Neurology, 47, 1113–1124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mendez, M. F. (1994). Huntington’s disease: update and review of neuropsychiatric aspects. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 24, 189–208.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mendez, M. F., & Cummings, J. L. (2003). Dementia: A Clinical Approach (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Butterworth Heinemann.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J. C. (1997). Clinical dementia rating: a reliable and valid diagnostic and staging measure for dementia of the Alzheimer type. International Psychogeriatrics, 9(Suppl 1), 173–176. discussion 177–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J. C., & Cummings, J. (2005). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) represents early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 7, 235–239. discussion 255–262.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, J. C., Storandt, M., Miller, J. P., et al. (2001). Mild cognitive impairment represents early-stage Alzheimer disease. Archives of Neurology, 58, 397–405.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, R., Neumann, M., Forman, M. S., et al. (2007). Cognitive and motor assessment in autopsy-proven corticobasal degeneration. Neurology, 68, 1274–1283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Navia, B. A., Jordan, B. D., & Price, R. W. (1986). The AIDS dementia complex: I. Clinical features. Annals of Neurology, 19, 517–524.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neary, D., Snowden, J. S., Gustafson, L., et al. (1998). Frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a consensus on clinical diagnostic criteria. Neurology, 51, 1546–1554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, R., Moser, D., Cohen, R., Browndyke, J., Zawacki, T., & Gordon, N. (2001). Dementia severity and pattern of cognitive performance in vascular dementia. Applied Neuropsychology, 8, 211–217.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paulsen, J. S., & Conybeare, R. A. (2005). Cognitive changes in Huntington’s disease. Advances in Neurology, 96, 209–225.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Paulsen, J. S., Ready, R. E., Hamilton, J. M., Mega, M. S., & Cummings, J. L. (2001). Neuropsychiatric aspects of Huntington’s disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 71, 310–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paulsen, J. S., Langbehn, D. R., Stout, J. C., et al. (2008). Detection of Huntington’s disease decades before diagnosis: the Predict-HD study. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, 79, 874–880.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters, N. L. (1989). Snipping the thread of life. Antimuscarinic side effects of medications in the elderly. Archives of Internal Medicine, 149, 2414–2420.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R. C. (2003). Mild Cognitive Impairment. New York: Oxford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R. C., Smith, G. E., Waring, S. C., Ivnik, R. J., Tangalos, E. G., & Kokmen, E. (1999). Mild cognitive impairment: clinical characterization and outcome. Archives of Neurology, 56, 303–308.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, R. C., Doody, R., Kurz, A., et al. (2001). Current concepts in mild cognitive impairment. Archives of Neurology, 58, 1985–1992.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roman GC, Tatemichi TK, Erkinjuntti T, et al. Vascular dementia: diagnostic criteria for research studies. Report of the NINDS-AIREN International Workshop. Neurology 1993;43:250-260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenstein, L. D. (1998). Differential diagnosis of the major progressive dementias and ­depression in middle and late adulthood: a summary of the literature of the early 1990s. Neuropsychology Review, 8, 109–167.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, D. P., & Filoteo, J. V. (2007). Neuropsychology of cortical versus subcortical dementia syndromes. Seminars in Neurology, 27, 7–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salthouse, T. A. (2009). When does age-related cognitive decline begin? Neurobiology of Aging, 30, 507–514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Starkstein, S. E., Sabe, L., Vazquez, S., et al. (1996). Neuropsychological, psychiatric, and cerebral blood flow findings in vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Stroke, 27, 408–414.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Storandt, M., Grant, E. A., Miller, J. P., & Morris, J. C. (2002). Rates of progression in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Neurology, 59, 1034–1041.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Teng, E. L., & Chui, H. C. (1987). The modified mini-mental state (3MS) examination. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 48, 314–318.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tuokko, H., Frerichs, R., Graham, J., et al. (2003). Five-year follow-up of cognitive impairment with no dementia. Archives of Neurology, 60, 577–582.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams-Gray, C. H., Foltynie, T., Lewis, S. J., & Barker, R. A. (2006). Cognitive deficits and psychosis in Parkinson’s disease: a review of pathophysiology and therapeutic options. CNS Drugs, 20, 477–505.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Woods, S. P., & Troster, A. I. (2003). Prodromal frontal/executive dysfunction predicts incident dementia in Parkinson’s disease. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 9, 17–24.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, S. L., & Persad, C. (2007). Distinguishing between depression and dementia in older persons: neuropsychological and neuropathological correlates. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology, 20, 189–198.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yaari, R. (2007). Corey-Bloom J. Alzheimer’s disease. Seminars in Neurology, 27, 32–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zaccai, J., McCracken, C., & Brayne, C. (2005). A systematic review of prevalence and incidence studies of dementia with Lewy bodies. Age and Ageing, 34, 561–566.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zekry, D., Hauw, J. J., & Gold, G. (2002). Mixed dementia: epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 50, 1431–1438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Neurology, and Neurological Surgery, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA

    Mike R. Schoenberg

  2. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Mike R. Schoenberg

Authors
  1. Mike R. Schoenberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kevin Duff
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mike R. Schoenberg .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Dept. Neurology, University of South Florida, Euclid Avenue 11100, Tampa, 44106, Florida, USA

    Mike R. Schoenberg

  2. Dept. Psychiatry & Behavioral Health, Health Sciences Center, University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, USA

    James G. Scott

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Schoenberg, M.R., Duff, K. (2011). Dementias and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults. In: Schoenberg, M., Scott, J. (eds) The Little Black Book of Neuropsychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-76978-3_14

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation