Monitoring the early signs of cognitive decline in elderly by computer games: an MRI study.

Background: It is anticipated that current and future preventive therapies will likely be more effective in the early stages of dementia, when everyday functioning is not affected. Accordingly the early identification of people at risk is particularly important. In most cases, when subjects visit an expert and are examined using neuropsychological tests, the disease has already been developed.

[Differentiation between mild cognitive impairment and healthy elderly population using neuropsychological tests].

Objective: Paired Associates Learning (PAL) test assesses brain functions in those brain regions affected earliest by Alzheimer's dementia. The aim of the present study was to assess the usability of our implementation of the PAL test for screening mild cognitive impairment.

Methodology: Based on Petersen criteria, 14 out of the 63 subjects were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.