Unique effects of apathy and depression signs on cognition and Research Paper

Unique effects of apathy and depression signs on cognition and function in amnestic mild cognitive impairment - Research Paper Example According to Zahodne & Tremont (2013), apathy and depression are distinct signs in amnestic MCI and for different patients the two are associated with specific executive functions. For mental health nurses, the distinction of apathy and depression relative to the presented differential frontal lobes neuropathology patterns and the affected functions are crucial in planning and delivery appropriate care. Zahodne & Tremont (2013), present the current diagnostic criteria as indicating that about 43% and 20% patients meet apathy and major depression criteria correspondingly with and without baseline dementia. Through a multiple regression framework, apathy and depression linked to specific cognitive abilities and functional status as presented in a sample of 90 elderly persons (with mean age 75.8 years) highly vulnerable to Dementia following amnestic MCI. For all participants, clinical assessments presented unbiased memory impairment and exclusion criteria of comorbid neurological illnesses, brain trauma history, and medical problems like cancer, and severe psychiatric disturbance (Zahodne & Tremont, 2013). The independent variables were apathy, depression, education, and age, while the dependent variables were unprocessed scores on individual tests. The result linked depression to inferior exclusive functioning and was independent of age, apathy, and education. Conversely, apathy pre sented intricacies in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living or IADL and did not link to age, depression, or education. These findings proved that apathy and depression distinctively associate with varying elements of executive functioning in amnestic MCI. For a mental health nurse, this information fundamentally contributes to the formulation of interventions aimed at fostering health, assessing dysfunction, and helping patients in regaining their coping abilities (Daniel, et al., 2014). Further, the nurse