PATTERNS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE AMONG FORMS OF SUBCORTICALDEMENTIA - A CASE-STUDY APPROACH

The uniformity of the neuropsychological deficits found in different f orms of subcortical dementia has received limited attention. This is p articularly true of relatively rare disorders such as Hallervorden-Spa tz syndrome and Fahr's disease. The current investigation presents cas e study data related to the neuropsychological functioning of 12 patie nts with different forms of subcortical dementia. Findings are consist ent with proposed subcortical characteristics of psychomotor slowing, impaired retrieval, and personality/mood alterations within a context of unimpaired vocabulary, verbal abstraction, and recognition memory. Heterogeneity is noted across cases on neuropsychological tasks of att ention/concentration, naming, verbal fluency, visual constructional ab ilities, and visual memory. Contrasting clinical features may indicate dementia progression, individual variability, or anatomic subgroups.