Emotion perception impairment in schizophrenia represents a robust finding in schizophrenia that appears to be moderated by certain clinical and demographic factors. Future directions for research on emotion perception are discussed.

To determine the frequency and correlates of impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson disease (PD).Design: An unstructured screening interview for ICDs (compulsive gambling, buying, and sexual behavior) followed by a telephone-administered structured interview for screen-positive patients.Setting: Two university-affiliated movement disorders centers.Participants: A convenience sample of 272 patients with idiopathic PD who were screened for psychiatric complications.Main Outcome Measures: Presence of compulsive gambling, buying, or sexual behavior as assessed by the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview.

Objective To compare the utility and diagnostic accuracy of the MoCA and MMSE in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in a clinical cohort. Method 321 AD, 126 MCI and 140 older adults with healthy cognition (HC) were evaluated using the the MMSE, MoCA, a standardized neuropsychological battery according to the Consortium to Establish a Registry of Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD-NB) and an informant based measure of functional impairment, the Dementia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS). Diagnostic accuracy and optimal cut-off scores were calculated for each measure, and a method for converting MoCA to MMSE scores is presented also. Results The MMSE and MoCA offer reasonably good diagnostic and classification accuracy as compared to the more detailed CERAD-NB; however, as a brief cognitive screening measure the MoCA was more sensitive and had higher classification accuracy for differentiating MCI from HC. Complementing the MMSE or the MoCA with the DSRS significantly improved diagnostic accuracy. Conclusion The current results support recent data indicating that the MoCA is superior to the MMSE as a global assessment tool, particularly in discerning earlier stages of cognitive decline. In addition, we found that overall diagnostic accuracy improves when the MMSE or MoCA is combined with an informant-based functional measure. Finally, we provide a reliable and easy conversion of MoCA to MMSE scores. However, the need for MCI-specific measures is still needed to increase the diagnostic specificity between AD and MCI.

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Results support and extend previous findings that psychiatric and other nonmotor symptoms contribute significantly to disability in PD. Screening for nonmotor symptoms in PD is necessary to more fully explain functional limitations. Further study is required to determine whether identifying and treating these symptoms will improve function and quality of life.

Olfactory dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia has been a topic of increasing interest, with deficits in odor identification

SETTING-Two movement disorders centers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.PARTICIPANTS-A convenience sample of 131 patients with idiopathic PD who were screened for cognitive and psychiatric complications.MEASUREMENTS-Subjects were administered the MoCA and MMSE, and only subjects defined as having a normal age-and education-adjusted MMSE score were included in the analyses (N = 100). As previously recommended in patients without PD, a MoCA score less than 26 was used to indicate the presence of at least mild cognitive impairment (MCI). RESULTS-Mean MMSE andMoCA scores ± standard deviation were 28.8 ± 1.1 and 24.9 ± 3.1, respectively. More than half (52.0%) of subjects with normal MMSE scores had cognitive impairment according to their MoCA score. Impairments were seen in numerous cognitive domains, including memory, visuospatial and executive abilities, attention, and language. Predictors of cognitive impairment on the MoCA using univariate analyses were male sex, older age, lower © 2009, The American Geriatrics Society Address correspondence to Daniel Weintraub, 3615 Chestnut St., Room 330, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail: weintrau@mail.med.upenn.edu. Author Contributions: S.N., A.D.S., J.E.D., A.C., S.S.H., P.J.M., J.W., M.B.S., D.W.: study concept and design, acquisition of subjects and data, analysis and interpretation of data, preparation of data, and preparation of manuscript. T.T.H.: analysis and interpretation of data, preparation of manuscript data, and preparation of manuscript. Impairments in executive function, attention, visuospatial skills, and memory characterize the "typical" cognitive profile in PD, whereas language and praxis are thought to be relatively spared. 3,4,9 The memory impairment associated with PD is classically considered a retrieval deficit (i.e., subcortical memory profile) as opposed to an encoding deficit (i.e., cortical memory profile). NIH Public AccessThere is substantial overlap in the pattern of observed cognitive deficits in PD without dementia and PDD. Studies enrolling both groups of patients have shown qualitatively similar, but quantitatively greater, impairments in patients with PDD in executive function, visuospatial abilities, attention, and psychomotor skills. 10 In longitudinal studies of patients without dementia at baseline, verbal memory deficits 11 and executive or visuospatial impairments 12 have been shown to predict development of PDD on long-term follow-up.Given the aforementioned high prevalence of MCI in PD and its association with future development of dementia, it is important that patients with PD, even those with mild disease, be screened regularly for cognitive impairment. 12 An ideal cognitive screening instrument in PD should be brief, assess a range of cognitive domains, simple to administer, sensitive to the initial stage of cognitive impairment, and unaffected by motor impairment.Few screening instruments have been validated or developed to assess global cognition in PD. The Scales for Outco...

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