Affiliations: Tbilisi State Medical University, Memory Clinic,
Tbilisi, Georgia | Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh,
Edinburgh, UK | Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive
Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Jennifer A. Foley, Human Cognitive
Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK.
Tel.: +44 131 650 9867; Fax: +44 131 650 3461; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Several studies have shown that people with Alzheimer's disease (AD)
demonstrate difficulties in doing two things at once or 'dual-tasking' and that
this dual task impairment is insensitive to normal ageing, chronic depression
or prodromal conditions like Mild Cognitive Impairment. It is not known,
however, if this impairment is specific to AD, or also present in other
dementias, such as vascular dementia (VaD). In this study 15 people with VaD,
25 healthy age-matched and 25 healthy young controls were assessed using a
paper and pencil dual tasking paradigm and several measures of working and
episodic memory. Age had no effect on dual task performance, but the VaD
patients demonstrated a significant impairment in dual tasking ability.
Performance on the memory measures was instead affected by age with a further
deterioration in the VaD patients. Both dual tasking and memory ability were
significantly correlated with disease severity, as assessed by the MMSE. These
results indicate that performance on the dual task could be a specific
indicator of pathological ageing.
