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Brain structural and cognitive correlates of clock drawing performance in Alzheimer's disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 1999

DEBORAH A. CAHN-WEINER
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Psychiatry Research, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
EDITH V. SULLIVAN
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
PAULA K. SHEAR
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
ROSEMARY FAMA
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Psychiatry Research, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
KELVIN O. LIM
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Psychiatry Research, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
JEROME A. YESAVAGE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Psychiatry Research, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
JARED R. TINKLENBERG
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Psychiatry Research, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA
ADOLF PFEFFERBAUM
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA Neuropsychiatry Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
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Abstract

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The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is widely used in the assessment of dementia and is known to be sensitive to the detection of deficits in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). CDT performance is dependent not only on visuospatial and constructional abilities, but also on conceptual and executive functioning; therefore, it is likely to be mediated by multiple brain regions. The purpose of the present study was to identify component cognitive processes and regional cortical volumes that contribute to CDT performance in AD. In 29 patients with probable AD, CDT performance was significantly related to right-, but not left-hemisphere, regional gray matter volume. Specifically, CDT score correlated significantly with the right anterior and posterior superior temporal lobe volumes. CDT scores showed significant relationships with tests of semantic knowledge, executive function, and visuoconstruction, and receptive language. These results suggest that in AD patients, CDT performance is attributable to impairment in multiple cognitive domains but is related specifically to regional volume loss of right temporal cortex. (JINS, 1999, 5, 502–509.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 The International Neuropsychological Society