Inhibitory Control and the Resistance to Interference With dementia of the Alzheimer Type Patients of Different Degree of Severity.

Abstract

Dementia of the Alzheimer type, which is going to be referred as DAT from now on this paper, is a neurodegenerative disease that produces memory disorders, along with other cognitive functions such as attention. The inhibitory control and the resistance to interferenceis defined as the ability to inhibit or suppress a behavioral tendency, which occurs automatically. The objective of the research was to analyze the inhibitory control and the resistance to interferencein patients who were classified according different degrees of severity. The sample consisted of 50 participants, 17 in mild phase, 17 in moderate phase, and 16 in moderately-severe phase and 60 subjects without cognitive impairment, which are to be referred as SWCI from now on in this paper.The results demonstrated that the subjects with moderately-severe and moderate DAT have worse yields in the inhibitory control than the subjects in mild phase. In addition, the results show that the inhibitory control follows a downward trend which affects in a greater way to severe and moderate DAT patients. The trend is constant in mild and moderate DAT patients in comparation to the SWCI. These results have not been affected by the age variable. In relation to theresistance to interference, this is greater in severe and moderate DAT patients while this decreases dramatically in moderate DAT patients, in comparison to those in mild phases and in the SWCI, and it has not been affected by the age variable.