HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Correspondence: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Monacelli, A. M. Articles by Duffy, C. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Monacelli, A. M. Articles by Duffy, C. J. Related Collections Visual processing All Neuropsychology/Behavior Neuropsychological assessment Alzheimer's disease

Spatial disorientation in Alzheimer’s disease

The remembrance of things passed

From the Departments of Neurology (A.M. Monacelli, Drs. Kavcic and Duffy), Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Dr. Cushman), Brain and Cognitive Sciences (Dr. Duffy), Neurobiology and Anatomy (Dr. Duffy), Ophthalmology (Dr. Duffy), and The Center for Visual Science (Dr. Duffy), The University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Charles J. Duffy, The Center for Visual Science, The University of Rochester Medical Center, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642; e-mail: CJD{at}cvs.rochester.edu

Background: Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and many older adults become lost even in familiar surroundings. This is commonly attributed to memory impairment, but it may reflect impaired spatial cognition.

Methods: The authors examined the role of memory, perceptual, and cognitive mechanisms in spatial disorientation by comparing the performance of normal young (YN), middle-aged (MA), older adult (OA), and AD subjects on neuropsychological and spatial orientation tests.

Results: The tendency to become lost is shared by almost all patients with AD (93%) and some OA subjects (38%). This impairment is not related to memory impairment. Instead, it reflects an inability to link recognized scenes with locations in the environment.

Conclusions: Spatial disorientation reflects the impaired linking of landmarks and routes that should be assessed in conjunction with routine memory testing in elderly patients.

Received March 19, 2003. Accepted in final form September 24, 2003.

See also pages 1470 and 1485

This article has been cited by other articles:

				L. A. Cushman, K. Stein, and C. J. Duffy Detecting navigational deficits in cognitive aging and Alzheimer disease using virtual reality Neurology, September 16, 2008; 71(12): 888 - 895. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. R. deIpolyi, K. P. Rankin, L. Mucke, B. L. Miller, and M. L. Gorno-Tempini Spatial cognition and the human navigation network in AD and MCI Neurology, September 4, 2007; 69(10): 986 - 997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Fernandez, V. Kavcic, and C. J. Duffy Neurophysiologic analyses of low- and high-level visual processing in Alzheimer disease Neurology, June 12, 2007; 68(24): 2066 - 2076. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. Hort, J. Laczo, M. Vyhnalek, M. Bojar, J. Bures, and K. Vlcek Spatial navigation deficit in amnestic mild cognitive impairment PNAS, March 6, 2007; 104(10): 4042 - 4047. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. M. Cherrier, A. M. Matsumoto, J. K. Amory, S. Asthana, W. Bremner, E. R. Peskind, M. A. Raskind, and S. Craft Testosterone improves spatial memory in men with Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment Neurology, June 28, 2005; 64(12): 2063 - 2068. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. E. Nadeau Alzheimer's disease as a window to neural mechanisms of cognition Neurology, December 9, 2003; 61(11): 1470 - 1471. [Full Text] [PDF]