Cognitive aspects of attention disorders in Alzheimer's disease.

Abstract

Attention deficits are encountered at a very early stage in the development of Alzheimer's disease. While these deficits may be detected using classic clinical tests or even through simple observation, experimental tools enable a more precise evaluation of these deficits, typically by differentiating between conditions in which the quantity of attention needed varies, and by recording response times, which allows for a more precise and modulated measurement. The sensitivity of these tools can be further increased by analysing the intra-individual variability of performance in these experiments, which is particularly significant during the earliest stages of the disease. We present the cognitive aspects of these deficits by regrouping them according to the type of experiment used to highlight each deficit. We therefore distinguish spatial attention orientation deficits, executive control deficits, and sustained attention deficits. In each section, we present some of the more commonly used experiments (spatial cueing, spatial search, dual tasks, conflict tasks, vigilance tests), and draw parallels between these experiments and everyday life.