Institute of Psychiatry, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;66(4):1683-1694. doi: 10.3233/JAD-180819.
Spatial navigation is a fundamental cognitive ability that allows an individual to maintain independence by facilitating the safe movement from one place to another. It emerges as one of the first deficits in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD).
To compare spatial navigation performance in the healthy elderly and AD patients through use of the Floor Maze Test (FMT)- an easy-to-apply two-dimensional (2D) maze- and determine which cognitive and functional capacities were associated with performance in this task.
The FMT was administered to 24 AD patients and 36 healthy controls. Spatial navigation was evaluated through the FMT. Functional capacity was evaluated through the Senior Fitness Test battery of tests. Cognitive functions were evaluated through the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), verbal fluency, digit span test, and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT).
The group with AD was significantly slower and presented more errors at all stages of the FMT. Planning Time (PT) performance was associated with cardiorespiratory resistance (Step test) and delayed memory according to the RAVLT (R2 = 0.395, p < 0.001). Performance in the Immediate Maze Time (IMT) and Delayed Maze Time (DMT) was associated with global cognitive status (MMSE) (R2 = 0.509) and delayed memory (R2 = 0.540).
Patients with AD present significant spatial navigation deficits. Their performance on the FMT is influenced by cardiorespiratory capacity, memory, and global cognitive function. As exercise helps to improve executive function and functional capacity, future intervention studies should be carried out to analyze the possible effects of physical exercise on spatial navigation.
空间导航是一种基本的认知能力，它可以帮助个体安全地从一个地方移动到另一个地方，从而保持独立性。它是阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者最早出现的缺陷之一。
通过使用易于实施的二维（2D）迷宫——地板迷宫测试（FMT），比较健康老年人和 AD 患者的空间导航表现，并确定哪些认知和功能能力与该任务的表现相关。
对 24 名 AD 患者和 36 名健康对照者进行 FMT 测试。通过 FMT 评估空间导航能力。通过老年人健康测试（Senior Fitness Test）中的一系列测试评估功能能力。通过简易精神状态检查（MMSE）、词语流畅性测试、数字跨度测试和 Rey 听觉言语学习测试（RAVLT）评估认知功能。
AD 组在 FMT 的所有阶段都明显较慢，且错误更多。规划时间（PT）表现与心肺耐力（台阶测试）和 RAVLT 中的延迟记忆有关（R2=0.395，p<0.001）。即时迷宫时间（IMT）和延迟迷宫时间（DMT）的表现与整体认知状态（MMSE）（R2=0.509）和延迟记忆（R2=0.540）有关。
AD 患者存在明显的空间导航缺陷。他们在 FMT 上的表现受到心肺能力、记忆和整体认知功能的影响。由于运动有助于提高执行功能和功能能力，未来的干预研究应该进行，以分析体育锻炼对空间导航的可能影响。
