The Case of the Cookie Jar: Differences in Typical Language Use in Dementia.

Background: Findings from language sample analyses can provide efficient and effective indicators of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Objective: This study used newly automated core lexicon analyses of Cookie Theft picture descriptions to assess differences in typical use across three groups.

Methods: Participants included adults without diagnosed cognitive impairments (Control), adults diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (ProbableAD), and adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).