This volume is designed to be a practical guide for the clinician using neuropsychological tests in the assessment of elderly patients. It presents concise overviews of the major neuropsychiatric syndromes affecting the elderly, the use of brain imaging in differential diagnosis, interpretation of test results, and how to generate useful treatment recommendations. The first chapter reviews proper selection of neuropsychological tests and the major issues to be considered when assessing the elderly - these include (but are not limited to) poor sensory functioning (hearing and vision), lack of adequate normative data in older age groups, particularly those over 85, and the effects of multiple medical problems and multiple medications on test performance. The effects of educational, ethnic, and cultural factors on test performance are also reviewed. The second chapter reviews the DSM-IV diagnoses of cognitive disorders (dementia, delirium, amnesic disorders, and cognitive disorders) and the limitation of each. This chapter also reviews commonly used research diagnoses including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and age-associated memory impairment (AAMI), their diagnostic criteria, and limitations. Each subsequent chapter is devoted to one disorder that affects cognition (e.g.

Alzheimer's Disease) and all follow the same format: A first section reviews the disorder in terms of epidemiology, presenting symptoms, typical course, neuropathology (if known), and the presentation of brain imaging, including CT, MRI, and functional imaging (PET, SPECT). A second section is in case presentation format and reviews one or two prototypical and atypical cases. It includes history, brain imaging, test data with raw scores and percentiles, and interpretation. Case management and treatment recommendations based on history and test data are presented. Limitations of the test battery and difficulties in interpretation due to ethnic, cultural, and limited education are discussed.