Attention and working memory deficits in mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has emerged as a classification for a prodromal phase of cognitive decline preceding the emergence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We examined neuropsychological functioning in a sample of 60 adults with amnestic-MCI (a-MCI), 32 with subjective complaints of memory impairment (subjective-MCI, s-MCI), 14 with mild AD, and 25 age-matched controls. Both the a-MCI and s-MCI groups displayed impaired attentional processing, working memory capacity, and semantic language, with a-MCI displaying additional impairments to verbal and/or visual memory. These results indicate that further research is needed to examine cognitive decline in nonamnestic variants of MCI.

Keywords:

• Mild cognitive impairment
• Memory
• Executive function
• Attention
• Working memory

There was no financial support received for this study. The authors wish to thank the Alzheimer's Association of Tasmania as well as various General Practice Surgeries in Northern Tasmania for their assistance in recruitment of participants in this study. We also wish to thank the participants and their families for their enthusiasm in taking part in this study. The authors report no conflicts of interest. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere, nor has it been submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere.