Neuropsychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) include but are not limited to psychotic and affective symptoms, agitation, disinhibition, apathy, aberrant motor behavior, appetite and sleep disorders. In older adults, NPSs confer an increased risk towards incident dementia. Moreover, they are related to poorer quality of life, greater dependence and caregiver burden, increased economic and social costs as well as accelerated courses of cognitive and functional decline. Still, in older adults, NPSs often go unnoticed for long periods while even after their identification they are arguably challenging to manage. Standard therapeutic approaches such as pharmaceutical interventions and psychotherapy are either detrimental to cognition themselves (e.g., benzodiazepines and antipsychotics) or simply fail to alter the course of cognitive decline.

This Research Topic aims to explore the associations between NPSs and cognitive impairment in older adults. Although NPSs have been related to steeper cognitive decline, it is not clear whether particular NPSs are associated with impairment in specific cognitive domains. The mapping of the exact correspondence between NPSs and affected cognitive functions could, however, be very useful in everyday clinical practice and dementia research. This knowledge could enhance the understanding of the neurobiological basis of NPSs, facilitate the earlier identification of cognitive impairment through more targeted clinical assessments in individuals with specific NPSs as well as enable the earlier implementation of cognitive interventions aiming at the fortification of specific cognitive functions in individuals with specific NPSs (to preclude or slow down the anticipated course of cognitive decline).

We welcome any types of manuscripts supported by the Journal - original research articles, brief research articles, community case studies, narrative reviews, mini-reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses - pertaining, but not limited to, the following themes:

- The neuropsychological profile and cognitive trajectories of older adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- The functional status and trajectories of older adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- The association of neuropsychiatric symptoms with incident Alzheimer' s and non-Alzheimer' s dementia.
- Independent determinants of cognitive decline and incident dementia in older adults with neuropsychiatric symptoms.
- The management of neuropsychiatric symptoms in cognitively impaired and unimpaired older adults.
- The prevention and management of cognitive decline in older individuals with neuropsychiatric symptoms.