Cognition in Alzheimer's disease: Theoretic models and clinical implications

Riege and Metter [22] review studies of cognitive functioning in probable Alzheimer's disease (pAD), representative of three distinguishable models: severity or staging, heterogeneity or subtyping, and information processing. As Riege and Metter point out, apparent differences in both disease description and implications for diagnostic assessment are dependent upon the model employed. The present commentary examines clinical and research implications derived from consideration of interactions between these three models, drawing upon recent cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of information processing in pAD.