RELATING ANATOMY TO FUNCTION IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES PREDICT REGIONAL NEUROPATHOLOGY 5 YEARS LATER

Neuropsychological profiles were assessed in a large group of nondemen ted control subjects (n = 261) and individuals with dementia of the Al zheimer type (DAT) (n = 407) by subjecting their psychometric test res ults to a factor analysis. Nondemented control subjects were functiona lly homogeneous with only one factor accounting for the results. The r esults of the factor analysis on the very mild DAT and mild DAT groups , however, yielded a mental control/frontal factor, a memory-verbal/te mporal factor, and a visuospatial/parietal factor. Forty-one of the or iginal set of participants came to autopsy an average of 5.1 years aft er psychometric testing and had neurofibrillary tangles, total senile plaques, and cored senile plaques estimated from frontal, temporal, an d parietal regions. The results of correlations indicated that the rel ative burden of cored senile plaques was systematically related to the three psychometric factors. These results suggest a connection betwee n the specific functions as defined by neuropsychological measures and specific neuropathology occurring in associated areas of cortex.