Validation of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) Lewy Body Disease Module neuropsychological tests

IntroductionThis study assessed the construct validity and clinical utility of the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) Module, consisting of the Speeded Attention and Noise Pareidolia Tasks.MethodsParticipants included 459 older adults diagnosed as cognitively normal (n = 202), or with non- amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 61), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 96), Alzheimer’s disease dementia (n = 44), or LBD (n = 56).ResultsSpeeded Attention demonstrated strong convergent validity and moderate discriminant validity when compared to established neuropsychological tests. Noise Pareidolia demonstrated strong discriminant validity, but limited convergent validity. Noise Pareidolia scores were significantly lower in those with reported hallucinations, delusions, or REM sleep behavior disorder symptoms. LBD Module tests discriminated well between cognitively normal adults and those with LBD.DiscussionThe LBD Module demonstrates promising construct validity and clinical utility, which support its use across research and clinical settings.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171809/1/dad212279_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/171809/2/dad212279.pd