Neurocognitive deficit in fronto-temporal dementia.

Meta-analytic principles were used to formulate a neurocognitive profile of fronto-temporal dementia (FTD). The neurocognitive test results from a total of 88 patients with FTD and 100 health controls were synthesized using effect size analyses. The results indicate that patients with FTD are most deficient on tests of cognitive flexibility and abstraction, followed by performance on measures of performance skill, memory acquisition, attention/concentration, delayed recall, and, finally, verbal skill. A rank-order profile of specific neurocognitive tasks and test variables in order of sensitivity of FTD is also provided to help interpret the quantitative results. On the basis of the profile, neurocognitive markers meeting heuristic benchmark criteria were identified that can aid in the differentiation of FTD from other disorders with prominent features of dementia.