[Neurological evaluation of behavior]

The evaluation of behavior is becoming increasingly important in neurology, mainly because the behavior disorders are an important factor in overburdening carers and leading to institutionalization of patients with dementia.

In this article we review the methodology and scope of the evaluation of conduct in cognitive deterioration and in dementia, with special attention to Alzheimer's disease. We also describe the instruments for evaluation which the author considers to be most relevant. From an initial broad concept, the scales of evaluation have been reduced to a limited concept of behavior disorder, which is an equivalent phenomenon to a 'psychiatric disorder'. The behavioral manifestations of the different dementias overlap completely, so that there is only limited usefulness in the evaluation of behavior for differential diagnosis. However, detailed evaluation of behavior contributes to a more rational approach to these patients, which would reduce the career's burden.

Development of sensitive scales during all the phases of deterioration and of instruments which allow one to investigate the genesis of the different disorders are urgently needed, preferably with an intercultural approach.