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Minor Hallucinations in Alzheimer's Disease

Maria Ruiz1, Alfonso Arias2, Ernesto Sánchez-Llanos2

  • 1Servicio de Neurología, Clinical Neuroscience Research Group, IRBLleida-Hospital Universitari Arnau de Vilanova, Spain.

Journal of Alzheimer'S Disease : JAD
|June 12, 2018
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Minor hallucinations (MHs) like presence hallucinations are more common in early Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). These hallucinations correlate with worse cognition and behavioral symptoms in AD and aMCI patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Psychiatry
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Minor hallucinations (MHs), encompassing passage hallucinations, visual illusions, and presence hallucinations, represent a spectrum of hallucinatory experiences.
  • Understanding MHs is crucial as they may manifest in neurodegenerative conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of MHs in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).
  • To explore the relationship between MHs and cognitive function, behavioral symptoms, and psychoactive drug use in these patient groups.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective recruitment of 268 subjects: 90 drug-naïve AD patients, 78 aMCI patients, and 100 controls.
  • Utilized a semi-structured questionnaire to assess psychotic phenomena and collected clinical, neuropsychological, and demographic data.
  • Compared data between patients with and without MHs, matched for age, sex, and education.

Main Results:

  • MH prevalence was significantly higher in AD (21.1%) and aMCI (12.8%) compared to controls (3%).
  • Presence hallucinations were the most frequent MH type, followed by passage hallucinations and illusions.
  • MHs showed a negative correlation with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores and a positive correlation with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) scores, indicating poorer cognition and more behavioral symptoms.

Conclusions:

  • MHs are more prevalent in newly diagnosed, untreated AD and aMCI patients than in controls.
  • The presence of MHs is associated with diminished cognitive performance and increased behavioral disturbances.
  • Routine screening for MHs is recommended as a clinical indicator in AD and aMCI populations.
Keywords:
Alzheimer’s diseasedementiadrug-naïveillusionmild cognitive impairmentminor hallucinationpassage hallucinationpresence hallucination

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