Reorientation deficits are associated with amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Spatial memory can be impaired in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). The present study investigates categorical spatial memory deficits using a virtual navigation-based reorientation task.

Twenty-eight amnestic single domain and 23 amnestic multiple domain patients were compared with 53 healthy elderly controls on the performance of the virtual reorientation test (VReoT).

The reorientation performance of participants in both aMCI groups was significantly worse than that of controls suggesting that VReoT detects spatial memory deficits. No significant difference emerged between the 2 groups of patients. A subsequent receiver-operating characteristic analysis showed that a score of 8 had a sensitivity of 80.4% and a specificity of 94.3% (area under the curve = 0.90).

The VReoT seemed to be accurate in differentiating patients with aMCI from controls and may represent an evaluation supplement for spatial memory deficits in prodromal stages of Alzheimer's dementia.