Multimodal Prediction of Transition from Normal Cognition to Mild Cognitive
Impairment and Dementia 
   Lead Investigator:    Kiana Scambray
   Institution      :    University of California, Irvine
   E-Mail           :    kscambra@uci.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1362



   Proposal Description:
   Previous neuropsychological studies of Alzheimer?s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have mainly focused on the memory impairments associated with ADRD. Little attention has been paid to the importance of investigating non-memory changes in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which could be a significant risk factor for their transition to AD. Examples of non-memory changes include executive, social, and behavior dysfunctions. This study aims to select participants from the NACC database who have transitioned from normal cognition to MCI and AD dementia. The goal of the study is to investigate whether impaired performance in various cognitive domains, as measured by neuropsychological battery, predicts the transition from normal cognition to MCI or dementia.     Currently, limited number of studies have focused on specific cognitive impairments, such as executive dysfunction, in patients with MCI and AD. The available studies have small sample sizes due to limited number of patients who progressed from normal cognition to MCI and dementia. Leveraging valuable resource of NACC, our study examines the changes in executive function as well as other cognitive domains as a potential marker for progression of cognitive decline from normal cognition to MCI and AD.    Specific Aim 1:  To determine impairment in what cognitive domains are associated with transition from normal cognition to MCI and from MCI to dementia.     We will test the hypothesis that impairment in memory function is significantly associated with transition from normal cognition to MCI. We additionally hypothesize that impairment in executive function is associated with transition from MCI to dementia.