Abstract
Background: Impairment in navigation abilities and object location memory are often seen in early-stage Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), yet these constructs are not included in standard neuropsychological assessment. We investigated the differential ability of a short digital spatial memory test in mild AD dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: 21 patients with AD dementia (66.9 ± 6.9; 47% female), 22 patients with MCI (69.6 ± 8.3; 46% female) and 21 patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) (62.2 ± 8.9; 48% female) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort performed the Object Location Memory Test (OLMT), consisting of a visual perception and memory trial, and the Virtual Tübingen (VT) test, consisting of a scene recognition, route continuation, route ordering and distance comparison task. The correlations with other cognitive domains were examined. Results: Patients with mild AD dementia (Z: −2.51 ± 1.15) and MCI (Z: −1.81 ± 0.92) performed worse than participants with SCD (Z: 0.0 ± 1.0) on the OLMT. Scene recognition and route continuation were equally impaired in patients with AD dementia (Z: −1.14 ± 0.73; Z: −1.44 ± 1.13) and MCI (Z: −1.37 ± 1.25; Z: −1.21 ± 1.07). Route ordering was only impaired in patients with MCI (Z: −0.82 ± 0.78). Weak to moderate correlations were found between route continuation and memory (r(64) = 0.40, p < 0.01), and between route ordering and attention (r(64) = 0.33, p < 0.01), but not for the OLMT. Conclusion: A short digital spatial memory test battery was able to detect object location memory and navigation impairment in patients with mild AD dementia and MCI, highlighting the value of incorporating such a test battery in standard neuropsychological assessment.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is associated with marked impairment in episodic memory, and subsequent decline in executive functioning, language and visuospatial abilities [1]
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the differential ability of a short digital spatial memory test in patients with mild Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) dementia, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and subjective cognitive decline (SCD)
Our main findings are that both patients with mild AD dementia and MCI were impaired on object location memory and spatial navigation
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is associated with marked impairment in episodic memory, and subsequent decline in executive functioning, language and visuospatial abilities [1]. Spatial memory consists of multiple visuospatial abilities that are a crucial part of our daily functioning It involves the encoding, storage and retrieval of information about spatial layouts, which enables us to remember the positions of objects in place (object location memory) and to learn and remember routes (spatial navigation) [10]. Methods: patients with AD dementia (66.9 ± 6.9; 47% female), patients with MCI (69.6 ± 8.3; 46% female) and 21 patients with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) (62.2 ± 8.9; 48% female) from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort performed the Object Location Memory Test (OLMT), consisting of a visual perception and memory trial, and the Virtual Tübingen (VT) test, consisting of a scene recognition, route continuation, route ordering and distance comparison task. Conclusion: A short digital spatial memory test battery was able to detect object location memory and navigation impairment in patients with mild AD dementia and MCI, highlighting the value of incorporating such a test battery in standard neuropsychological assessment
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call