Chapter 5

Question 1

Name the two different kinds of mild cognitive impairments. What is one main difference between these subtypes?

Answer 1

(1) Amnestic mild cognitive impairment
(2) Multidomain mild cognitive impairment

Atrophy of the hippocampus is only found in aMCI.

Question 2

Which brain areas are most affected in MCI?

Answer 2

Hippocampus (in aMCI), posterior corpus callosum (atrophy), inferior parietal lobe (hypoperfusion).

Question 3

Neuritic plaques are mostly present in MCI affected brains. Which areas are most affected? What are the consequences with reference to the hippocampus?

Answer 3

Frontal, parietal and temporal areas, as well as the amygdala. Moreover, the basal forebrain is affected, leading to a cholinergic deficit, which might damage hippocampal function.

Question 4

Name the main risk factors for MCI.

Answer 4

Age, low education, apolipoprotein E4 and low physical activity throughout life.

Question 5

Neurofibrillary tangles in MCI are mostly found in…

Answer 5

Parietal lobe, ventromedial temporal lobe (amygdala, entorhinal cortex, hippocampus [CA1, subiculum] ).

Question 6

Which pathways might be affected in MCI?

Answer 6

(1) Frontostriatal circuit, (2) frontohippocampal circuit and ((3) ARAS (no information available))

Question 7

Name the most prevalent symptoms of MCI.

Answer 7

In general: more than one cognitive dysfunction. Deficits might be in planning, divided attention, set-shifting and inhibition. Episodic memory (especially delayed recall) and speed of information processing can be affected. Moreover, olfactory deficits can be indicators.