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A large-scale retrospective study of closing-in behavior in Alzheimer’s disease

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2009

ELISABETTA AMBRON
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples, Italy
ROBERT D. MCINTOSH*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
FRANCESCA ALLARIA
Affiliation:
Third Neurological Department, University of Milan, St. Paolo Hospital, Milan, Italy
SERGIO DELLA SALA
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Human Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Department of Psychology, Center for Cognitive Aging and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Robert D. McIntosh, Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, 7 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ. E-mail: r.d.mcintosh@ed.ac.uk

Abstract

The frequency and characteristics of closing-in behavior (CIB) were examined in 797 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 132 of whom were followed up longitudinally. The frequency of CIB increased with the complexity of the graphic copying task and with the severity of Alzheimer’s disease. Regression analyses suggested that attentional deficits are critical factors for the appearance of CIB, but that visuospatial impairments also play an important role in the emergence of severe forms of CIB. (JINS, 2009, 15, 787–792.)

Type
Brief Communications
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2009

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