Institute of Psychology, Department of Human Sciences, University of Osnabrück, Seminarstr. 20, 49074 Osnabrück, Germany.
J Neurol. 2009 Nov;256(11):1860-8. doi: 10.1007/s00415-009-5210-7. Epub 2009 Jun 19.
Two experiments are reported that assess dual task performance in Alzheimer's disease (AD), in chronic depression and in healthy old age. Results suggest that dual task impairments are present in AD but are not shown in depression. This is true even when episodic memory performance is equated between the groups. These results, together with those of previous studies, point to dual task performance as an aid to diagnosis of AD relative to depression. This is of particular relevance when episodic memory tests cannot distinguish between the two conditions. The dual task paradigm appears to have considerable promise in assisting the early detection of the specific cognitive deficits associated with AD, and in monitoring their progression, both in the laboratory setting and in everyday tasks. Results also are of theoretical interest in pointing to a specific dual task coordination function in the healthy human cognitive system that allows for the coordination of two tasks performed simultaneously and which is damaged in AD but not in depression.
报告了两项实验，评估了阿尔茨海默病（AD）、慢性抑郁症和健康老年人群中的双重任务表现。结果表明，AD 患者存在双重任务损伤，但抑郁症患者没有。即使在两组之间进行了情节记忆表现的匹配，情况也是如此。这些结果与之前的研究结果一起表明，相对于抑郁症，双重任务表现可以作为 AD 诊断的辅助手段。当情节记忆测试无法区分两种情况时，这一点尤其重要。双重任务范式在辅助早期发现与 AD 相关的特定认知缺陷方面具有很大的前景，并在实验室环境和日常任务中监测其进展。结果在理论上也很有趣，它指出了健康人类认知系统中的一种特定的双重任务协调功能，该功能允许协调同时执行的两项任务，而在 AD 中则受到损害，但在抑郁症中则没有。
