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Unawareness of Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias: Operational Definitions and Empirical Findings

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Abstract

Individuals with dementia frequently demonstrate decreased awareness of their cognitive difficulties. Empirical research examining this phenomenon has addressed a number of aspects of unawareness in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, including occurrence in various disorders; possible neuroanatomical substrates; relationship to general cognitive functioning, executive functioning, and psychiatric symptomatology; and progression over time and across cognitive domains. Limitations of the current research literature are discussed, particularly issues surrounding operational definitions of unawareness and the current limited understanding of the role of the frontal lobes. A number of conclusions regarding unawareness that appear to be supported by the current body of empirical research and possible future directions are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Allied Services Psychology Service, Scranton, Pennsylvania

    Eric Ecklund-Johnson

  2. Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

    Ivan Torres

  3. Department of Medicine and Research, Riverview Hospital, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

    Ivan Torres

  4. Centre for Complex Disorders, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

    Ivan Torres

  5. Allied Services Psychology Service, P.O. Box 1103, 475 Morgan Highway, Scranton, Pennsylvania, 18501-1103

    Eric Ecklund-Johnson

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  1. Eric Ecklund-Johnson
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  2. Ivan Torres
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Correspondence to Eric Ecklund-Johnson.

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Ecklund-Johnson, E., Torres, I. Unawareness of Deficits in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias: Operational Definitions and Empirical Findings. Neuropsychol Rev 15, 147–166 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-005-9026-7

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