Neuropsychological Parameters as Potential Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neuro- degenerative disease. It is of great importance that we find efficient preclinical markers that can be used in clinics. The neuropathological features associated with AD brain include the progressive formation of insoluble amyloid plaques and vascular deposits consisting of the amyloid β peptide in the brain and neuron loss that innervates regions such as the hippocampus and the cortex. These lesions are considered to cause the abnormal sensory information processing and brain dysfunction of AD patients. Combined cognitive and sensory as well as neuroimaging approaches have advantages to find the altered cognitive symptoms and brain dysfunction in the early stage in AD involved mild memory or planning prob- lems. This review provides an overview of the neuropsycho- logical impairments in patients with AD, which may be used as potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of AD.