Discrimination of cortical from subcortical dementias on the basis of memory and problem-solving tests

Abstract

This study compared the discriminative utility of problem-solving and memory tasks in patients with Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease and in age-, education-, and gender-matched normal control subjects. Problem-solving was assessed with a modified version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Memory was measured with a 10-item, 6-trial version of the Buschke Selective Reminding Test. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were plotted to determine which measure provided the highest sensitivity (i.e., hit rate) and specificity (i.e., correct rejection rate). Both tests provided excellent detection of dementia (88 to 98% classification accuracy), but were less robust in differentiating between dementia groups. Findings underscore the suitability of both measures to detect mild dementia, but emphasize the importance of specific memory measures to differentiate between cortical and subcortical dementia.