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Neurosurg, an open access journal
ISSN: 2471-9633
Page 14
Notes:
August 14-16, 2017 | Toronto, Canada
BRAIN DISORDERS AND DEMENTIA CARE
4th International Conference on
alliedacademies
There aremany questions and conflicting research concerning
the nature of the relationship between depression and
dementia, i.e., are they coincidental, unidirectionally
causal, mutually influencing or do they share a common
pathophysiology. Normal and pathological aging will be
reviewed with a focus on the differences between crystallized
and fluid intelligence. Effects of depression on cognition
as individual’s age are addressed. Depression primarily
impairs reaction time and some executive functions, such as
mental flexibility, such that executive functions can appear
impaired. There has been no demonstration of a consistent
disturbance inmemory functioning resulting fromdepression
alone, whereas dementia is characterized by memory loss.
Nonetheless memory complaints are ubiquitous amongst the
elderly, regardless of whether they are healthy, depressed
or dementing. No consistent and agreed upon terminology
is apparent throughout the literature on the relationship
between dementia and depression, confounding a current
understanding. For example, DSM-5 criteria for a diagnosis
of depression may currently result in an under-reporting of
major depression because elder patients tend demonstrate
fewer symptoms and tend to focus on somatic and/or
cognitive complaints rather than on mood issues. Thus, a
nosology is proposed to help clarify these issues. Depression
confounds the diagnosis of dementia and vice versa. Current
research has not provided a definitive understanding of this
complex relationship. Recent studies have suggested that
the magnitude and trajectory of depressive symptomatology
have been underappreciated. Perhaps the single greatest
problem in understanding the relationship between
dementia and depression is the heterogeneous nature of
the illnesses themselves. Clarification can only come when
careful specification of each group is made. In effect, apples
must be compared with apples and not with oranges.
Speaker Biography
Donald A Davidoff, Ph.D., is Chief of the Department of Neuropsychology and director
of the Neuropsychology Fellowship Program at the McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical
School. Dr. Davidoff is also an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry,
Harvard Medical School and Psychologist, McLean Hospital. He founded the Geriatric
Neuropsychiatry Unit in 1993 and was its Psychologist-in-Charge for 15 years, retiring
from that position to focus on research and the Department of Neuropsychology. He
has published numerous papers and book chapters on the diagnosis and management
of patients with dementia, treatment resistant affective disorders, optimal aging, the
neurocognitive basis of Hoarding Disorder, nonverbal learning disabilities and affec-
tive and motivational aspects of memory functioning. He is a sought after speaker for
interdisciplinary conferences and has taught courses at the American Psychiatric As-
sociation Meetings consistently for the last 15 years. He is an award-winning teacher
and has mentored a large number of multi-disciplined professionals including pre- and
post-doctoral psychologists and psychiatry residents. He is a member of the core fac-
ulty of the Harvard-South Shore Residency Training program and the McLean-MGH
Harvard Residency Training Program. He has served as chairman of the Commissioner’s
Task Force on Alzheimer’s disease and on the State House Task Force on Elder Mental
Health. He was a board member (for 12 years) and treasurer of the Alzheimer’s Asso-
ciation of Massachusetts. He is a senior consultant for the Levinson Institute (a psycho-
logically oriented organizational consulting group) and teaches the Harvard Medical
School’s CME course on Leadership for Physician Executives. He has also co-authored
five mystery novels (Amnesia, Addiction, Delusion, Obsessed, and Guilt) under the
pseudonym GH Ephron.
e:
Donald A Davidoff
Harvard Medical School, USA
Diagnostic Issues and the Nature of the Relationship between Dementia and
Depression
Donald A Davidoff, Neurosurg 2017, 2:2
DOI: 10.21767/2471-9633-C1-004