Evaluating Different Aspects of Prospective Memory in Amnestic and Nonamnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

Rene Hernandez Cardenache,David A Loewenstein,Rosie Curiel,Lizmar Burguera,Amarilis Acevedo

doi:10.1155/2014/805929

Rene Hernandez Cardenache, David A Loewenstein + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/805929

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Journal: ISRN Neurology	Publication Date: Mar 5, 2014
Citations: 35	License type: CC BY 3.0

Affiliation: University of Miami, Nova Southeastern University

Abstract

Prospective memory, the inability to remember an intended action, is a common complaint, but not formally assessed in most clinical and research studies of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). In this study, patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), non-amnestic cognitive impairment (naMCI), and cognitively normal (CN) elders were assessed using the Miami Prospective Memory Test (MPMT). A unique aspect of the paradigm was that participants were scored for intention to perform, accuracy in recollection for specific elements of the task, and the need for reminder cues. Excellent test-retest stability was obtained for MPMT Event-Related (ER), combined Time-Related (TR) subscales, and total MPMT score for aMCI subjects. MPMT impairments were observed in 48.6% of aMCI, 29.4% of naMCI, and 10.0% of normal elderly participants. Prospective memory deficits were common in participants with aMCI, and occurred in almost a third of naMCI participants. Intention to perform and need for reminder cues were significantly more impaired than retrospective memory for specific details of the task. It is concluded that assessment of different elements of prospective memory is important in MCI research and that inability to remember intended actions is a significant feature in those as risk for Alzheimer's disease.

Highlights

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment has increasingly been accepted as a prodrome or significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in clinical settings [1]
An individual was diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) attributable to a vascular etiology, and in another case, the individual had suspected Diffuse Lewy Body disease
All amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) subjects were administered the Miami Prospective Memory Test (MPMT) on two occasions within a 9week interval

Summary

Introduction

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) has increasingly been accepted as a prodrome or significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease in clinical settings [1]. Impairments in delayed recall or rate of forgetting on verbal episodic memory tasks have been found to be a sensitive indicator of mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [2, 3] and a predictor of progression to dementia among elders who do not meet criteria for dementia upon initial evaluation [4,5,6] Despite these efforts, with the growing understanding that earlier treatments may lead to better outcomes, there is a pressing need to develop tests that are optimally sensitive to different types of memory deficits in the earliest stages of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. Prospective memory is usually evaluated by requiring a patient/subject to perform an action either upon the occurrence of specified

Methods

Results

Conclusion