Spatial Navigation in Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neurology

Background:

• Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder.
• Navigational deficits are known in symptomatic AD.
• Navigational abilities in preclinical AD remain under-examined.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate spatial navigation performance in preclinical and early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease.
• To compare wayfinding and route learning strategies across different AD stages.

Main Methods:

• Virtual reality environment used for navigation tasks.
• Three groups studied: cognitively normal without preclinical AD, cognitively normal with preclinical AD, and early symptomatic AD.
• Preclinical AD defined by cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 levels (<500 pg/ml).

Main Results:

• Preclinical AD showed deficits in wayfinding strategies, but not route learning.
• Early symptomatic AD exhibited deficits in both wayfinding and route learning.
• Wayfinding performance demonstrated moderate sensitivity and specificity for detecting preclinical AD.

Conclusions:

• Spatial navigation, particularly wayfinding, may be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease.
• Assessing navigation could aid in the early detection of cognitive decline associated with AD.
• Findings highlight the potential of spatial navigation tasks in preclinical AD diagnosis.