Background Systematic explorations of language abilities in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are lacking in the context of wider cognitive change. Methodology Neuropsychological assessment data were obtained from 51 patients with ALS and 35 healthy controls matched for age, gender and IQ. Composite scores were derived for the domains of language and executive functioning. Domain impairment was defined as a composite score ≤5th centile relative to the control mean. Cognitive impairment was also classified using recently published consensus criteria. Results The patients with ALS were impaired on language and executive composite scores. Language domain impairment was found in 43% of patients with ALS, and executive domain impairment in 31%. Standardised language and executive composite scores correlated in the ALS group (r=0.68, p<0.001). Multiple regression analyses indicated that scores on the executive composite accounted for 44% of the variance in language composite scores. Conclusions Language impairments are at least as prevalent as executive dysfunction in ALS. While the two domains are strongly associated, executive dysfunction does not fully account for the profile of language impairments observed, further highlighting the heterogeneity of cognitive impairment in non-demented patients with ALS.

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The results indicate that children with ALI and children with SLI share emotion recognition deficits, which are likely to be driven by the poor language abilities of these two groups.

About every 20 years, the American Psychiatric Association revises its official classification of mental disorders. The fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) was published in 2013, exciting considerable commentary, debate and criticism. This article briefly describes the process that led to the DSM-5 and the main changes from the previous version (DSM-IV) that would be of interest to a geriatric psychiatrist. While there have been a number of changes in the areas of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorders and anxiety disorders, the majority of these changes are minor and unlikely to have major treatment implications. The classification of neurocognitive disorders has however seen a major revision and elaboration in comparison with DSM-IV, with the introduction of Mild and Major Neurocognitive Disorders, the latter equated with dementia. A common language is introduced for the criteria of the various etiological subtypes of neurocognitive disorders. All physicians treating patients with neurocognitive disorders should familiarize themselves with these criteria. Their use in research has the potential to harmonize the field.