Calculation and number processing in mild Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Calculation and number processing abilities in 17 patients suffering from a mild form of dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT) were studied by means of a standardized multitask assessment battery, the EC301 (Deloche et al., 1994). Patients were selected from a larger sample by using a specific visuo-perceptive task to control the confounding effects of deficits in analysing digit serial order. Language and memory skills were evaluated by means of standardized testing procedures. The EC301 overall score showed impaired performance in 12 cases. Calculation and number processing scores were highly correlated with Mini-Mental State Examination and language performance. However, multiple single-case analyses indicated heterogeneous patterns of preserved/impaired abilities with respect to the three cognitive areas under investigation (calculation, memory, and language) and to the different components of the calculation and number processing system.

Numerical abilities in dementia

“…Overall, converging evidence from both group studies (Deloche et al, 1995;Parlato et al, 1992) and single-case studies (Grafman et al, 1989;Pesenti et al, 1994) suggests that numerical disorders should be included among the early signs of AD.…”

“…Further, it seems plausible to conclude that, at an early stage of AD, deficits in the numerical domain may occur independently from deficits in other cognitive functions (Deloche, 1995). One may suggest that calculation and number-processing mechanisms, being highly specific and acquired later in development, constitute a rather difficult and unsteady domain of knowledge compared to others, and thus are more sensitive to cerebral damage.…”

“…A more exhaustive evaluation of numerical and calculation disorders in AD was carried out by Deloche et al (1995). They administered to 17 mild AD patients a standardised battery comprising a variety of tasks (n = 31) tapping comprehension and production of numerals in different formats as well as calculation ability.…”

The Combined Effects of Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism and Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol on Cognitive Performance in Young Adults

“…Although the importance of calculation ability tests in predicting early Alzheimer's disease and general intellectual performance has been recognized [31,32], evidence for the association between ApoE and arithmetic ability has remained scarce. The widely used mental control subtest, the Wechsler Memory Scale -Revised (WMS-R) [33], has several properties in common with those of the mental arithmetic task we used in the present study.…”

Ensino de Habilidades no Uso de Dinheiro a Idoso com Perda de Memória por Meio de Relações Condicionais e Equivalência

“…Caracteriza-se por défi-cits cognitivos, manifestados pelo prejuízo da memó-ria e pelo comprometimento de uma (ou mais) função cognitiva (afasia, apraxia, agnosia, perturbação do funcionamento executivo -isto é, planejamento, organização, sequenciamento, abstração) (APA, 2003). Uma das primeiras manifestações em indivíduos com doença de Alzheimer (DA) é a dificuldade para cálcu-los e fatos numéricos básicos (Arnaud, Lemaire, Allen & Michel, 2008;Deloche, Hannequin, Carlomagno & Agniel, 1995;Maylor, Watson & Muller, 2005;Parlato, Lopez, Panisset & Iavarone, 1992;Rosselli et al, 1998).…”