OBJECTIVE

Prior research has shown that individuals with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) show a different pattern of error types on everyday tasks compared with individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This study evaluated whether these groups would respond differently to cues designed to remind participants of task goals and improve performance of everyday tasks (i.e., goal cues).

METHOD

Participants with PDD (n = 20) and AD (n = 20), and a comparison group of individuals with Parkinson's disease and no dementia (n = 20), were administered performance-based tasks of everyday functioning that allowed for the quantification of errors before and after the presentation of goal cues.

RESULTS

AD participants showed a significantly greater response to the goal cues as compared with individuals with PDD. The goal cues facilitated the completion of task goals but did not promote error correction (i.e., the undoing of errors that had been made earlier during the task).

CONCLUSIONS

Not all dementia patients respond similarly to cues designed to improve everyday functioning. Understanding patients' specific form of everyday action impairment is crucial for developing individualized interventions that target specific functional deficits.