Correlations between psychopathology, psychological test results and computerized tomography changes in senile dementia.
This study is an investigation of the relationship between morphological, neuropsychological, and clinical measurements, all presumably contributing to an expert's diagnosis of senile dementia. Morphological assessment was carried out by linear measurements taken from the photographs of the CT scanners display. The battery of tests comprised instruments able to evaluate performance (WAIS, Benton test, d2 test, Trail Making test) as well as personality (FPI) from a quantitative point of view. For clinical assessment the Assessment Scale for Gerontopsychiatry (AGP) was used. A group of 39 patients suffering from mild to severe dementia was studied. The results show strong correlations between some sub-tests of the WAIS and certain CT measurements but fail to show comparable features in using the full scale IQ. The other cognitive tests did not work as well in detecting brain atrophy. Surprisingly, the personality inventory (FPI) showed some correlations with brain atrophy. A number of correlations between morphological and clinical variables were found as well, consistent with well-known clinical experience. Topographical features will be discussed supporting the view that cerebral lesions in the progress of senile dementia take the form of distinct patterns.