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Impulsive behaviors are common in brain-damaged patients including those with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease (AD). The objective of this study was to develop and validate a short version of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale assessing changes on 4 different dimensions of impulsivity, namely urgency, (lack of) premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, and sensation seeking, arising in the course of a neurodegenerative disease. To this end, caregivers of 83 probable AD patients completed a short questionnaire adapted from the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the data were performed and revealed that a model with 4 distinct but related latent variables corresponding to 4 different dimensions of impulsivity fit the data best. Furthermore, the results showed that lack of perseverance, followed by lack of premeditation and urgency, increased after the onset of the disease, whereas sensation seeking decreased. Overall, the multifaceted nature of impulsivity was confirmed in a sample of AD patients, whose caregivers reported significant changes regarding each facet of impulsivity. Consequently, the short version of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale opens up interesting prospects for a better comprehension of behavioral symptoms of dementia.

Apathy, defined as a reduction in voluntary goal-directed behaviors, is one of the most common behavioral symptoms encountered in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the processes underlying the different components of apathy are still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore a particularly important aspect of executive function in daily life: multitasking [assessed with the Modified Six Elements Task (MSET)], and its relationship with apathy in AD. Sixty-seven participants (37 AD patients matched with 30 control participants) were screened using the MSET. Simultaneously, a close relative of each patient was given the Apathy Inventory, which assesses 3 distinct dimensions of apathy (lack of initiative, lack of interest, and emotional blunting). AD patients presented significantly more multitasking deficits than control participants. In addition, regression analyses revealed that the number of rule breaks on the MSET (inability to perform several tasks in a predefined time observing a number of rules) was the best predictor of apathy, and especially of lack of initiative. These results suggest that the relation between lack of initiative and multitasking has a specific character and that mechanisms underlying multitasking constitute a key component of goal-directed behaviors.

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Difficulties in the execution of goal-directed behaviours, and particularly their prospective memory component, can arise in ageing and have important consequences for autonomy. The first objective of this article is to present an intervention that trained older individuals who reported prospective memory or goal-directed behaviour problems to use "implementation intentions". This technique, which has been shown to improve different aspects of goal-directed behaviour enactment, consists of establishing a mental (verbal and/or visual) link between the action that must be performed and the situation in which it must be performed. Our programme proposes exercises of progressively increasing difficulty that are targeted at daily life situations. Our second objective was to test the programme in small groups of older adults. Preliminary data regarding the programme's feasibility and its initial efficacy show a significant improvement in the main outcome measure, a questionnaire assessing goal-directed behaviours in everyday life. The participants also reported being significantly less bothered by their difficulties, although there were no significant changes in quality of life, self-esteem, anxiety or depression. Two participants with different psychological profiles, who benefited differently from the intervention, are then presented in more detail

Implementation intentions have been shown to be a very effective strategy in improving prospective memory in older adults. However, their efficacy in improving inhibition has never been assessed in aging. We thus examined the efficacy of implementation intentions in a prospective memory task and an inhibition task in 87 older participants. Following a crossover design, half of the participants were instructed to form an implementation intention in the prospective memory task, the other half in the inhibition task. The moderating role of working memory, visualization and verbalization habits, and impulsivity were also assessed. Regression analyses revealed that for both tasks, participants benefited from implementation intentions but only if they were used to using visual strategies in daily life. The efficacy of implementation intentions was not moderated by working memory, impulsivity, or the use of verbal strategies in everyday life. Copyright 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

tImplementation intentions are an effective strategy for improving prospective memory in older adults.However, their efficacy has never been assessed in older individuals with cognitive problems (i.e., indi-viduals with subjective memory complaints or objective memory impairments). Furthermore, althoughmost authors consider implementation intentions to depend on automatic processes, some studies haveshown the necessity of residual preserved controlled processes for implementation intentions to beefficient. We examined the efficacy of implementation intentions in prospective memory in 45 olderparticipants consulting a memory clinic. Half of the participants were instructed to form an implemen-tation intention, the other half receiving standard instructions. Analyses showed that working memorymoderated the efficacy of implementation intentions, which were efficient only in individuals with bet-ter working memory. These results corroborate the claim that a minimal level of cognitive resources isrequired for the technique, although implementation intentions might depend principally on automaticprocesses

Background: Apathy is common in aging, but the processes underlying its different components are still unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between apathy and prospective memory (PM), a process involved in the execution of delayed intentions. Methods: Fifty elderly participants completed a PM task and a working memory task. Close relatives of the participants were given the Apathy Inventory, which assesses three dimensions of apathy (lack of initiative, lack of interest, emotional blunting), and a negative mood scale. Results: Correlation analyses showed strong relationships between PM and lack of initiative and interest. These relations remain significant even after controlling for global cognitive functioning, working memory, processing speed and negative mood. Conclusion: This study sheds new light on the cognitive mechanisms associated with apathy in aging and opens up interesting prospects for psychological intervention.