A Closer Look at Practice Effects in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Practice effects have become a potentially important variable regarding the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment recommendations in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the understanding of these short-term changes in test scores remains unclear. The current observational study sought to examine variables that influence the magnitude of short-term practice effects in MCI and AD, including demographic information, cognitive performance, daily functioning, and medical comorbidities. One hundred sixty-six older adults classified as cognitively intact, amnestic MCI, or mild AD were tested twice across 1 week with a brief battery of neuropsychological tests. Correlational and regression analyses examined the relationship of practice effects with demographic and clinical variables. Results indicated that practice effects were minimally related to demographic variables and medical comorbidities, but they were significantly related to cognitive variables, depressive symptoms, and daily functioning. These findings expand our understanding of practice effects in MCI and AD, and they may allow a better appreciation of how they could affect clinical care and research.