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Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Assessment of Age-related Changes in Cognitive Functions Using EmoCogMeter, a Novel Tablet-computer Based Approach
Published on: February 14, 2014
Cognitive complaints, neuropsychological performance and affective disorders in elderly community residents
I Rouch1, C Thomas Anterion, V Dauphinot
1CMRR, Department of Neurology, Saint-Etienne, France. isabelle.rouch@chu-st-etienne.fr
Background:
Previous studies have assessed the relationship between subjective cognitive complaints and objective impairment. While some of them found that cognitive complaints were explained by affective disorders, other researches found a relationship between cognitive complaints and neuropsychological performance. Most of them focused on memory functioning. However, elderly normal adults also display a decline in executive functions. This study aimed to assess the relationship between cognitive complaints, objective memory and executive performance and affective disorders.
Methods:
This study was carried out with 937 community-dwelling elderly individuals recruited from the electoral list of the city of Saint-Etienne, France. Cognitive complaints were assessed using the MacNair scale. Cognitive performances were measured via a large battery of memory and executive-performance tests chosen for their capacity to detect subtle cognitive impairment. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were assessed using scales devised by Pichot and Goldberg.
Results:
Cognitive complaints were associated with lower scores on verbal-memory tests and several executive-performance tests. Moreover, affective disorders were related to some of the executive-performance test scores, but they were not related to scores on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test, Digit Symbol Substitution Test and Trail Making B scores.
Conclusions:
Cognitive complaints of the elderly can reflect objective memory and executive-performance impairments, independent of affective disorders. Cognitive complaints should be assessed using both memory and executive-performance tests.
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