COMMENTARY ON AGE-ASSOCIATED MEMORY IMPAIRMENT, AGE-RELATED COGNITIVEDECLINE AND MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT

Age-Associated Memory Impairment (AAMI) and the broader DSM-IV classif ication Age-Related Cognitive Decline (ARCD) both represent the well-d ocumented phenomenon of declining cognitive performance with age. Obje ctions to AAMI/ARCD often stem from inappropriate adherence to the ''d isease model'' instead of recognizing that cognitive decline is a comm on behavioral consequence of brain aging. One unsolved problem, howeve r, is the difficulty in assessing individual decline without longitudi nal data. Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) are 3. hete rogeneous group whose cognitive performance is between that of individ uals with ARCD and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research confirms t hat MCI cases are at increased risk for developing AD within several y ears, and that cognitive and in vivo brain measures may help identify individuals at risk for accelerated age-associated decline or developi ng AD. Both ARCD and MCF are appropriate targets for pharmacologic int erventions that might slow the rate of decline or delay the onset of A D.