Correlations between the performance of older adults in conditional discrimination training and in a screening test for Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

The prevalence of neurocognitive disorders has been rising and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most common cause. Studies on conditional discrimination have contributed to understand the variables associated with the cognitive function. However, the relationship of such studies with cognitive impairment in older adults remains under-explored. This research aims to compare the performances of older adults during tasks involving conditional discrimination training with their performances on Addenbroke's Cognitive Examination, a widely used screening test for cognitive impairments. The sample was composed of 45 older adults. The participants performed a computerized task consisting on establishing arbitrary conditional relations between three pairs of stimuli. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination was administered to assess the cognitive performance. The analysis revealed a positive correlation between the performance in conditional discrimination and in the cognitive assessment. This correlation was observed only among participants who did not reported having AD in use of anti-cholinesterase drugs (30 participants). These findings demonstrate a direct relationship between learning difficulties, when it comes to learning arbitrary conditional relations, and the occurrence of cognitive decline. Therefore, the administration of the conditional relations tasks could be useful for distinguishing older adults with and without AD. Keywords: Conditional discrimination; neuropsychological tests; elderly; Alzheimer's Disease.