What is Mild Neurocognitive Disorder (Pre-Dementia)?

“Mild neurocognitive disorder” is the term for individuals who fall between the cognitive changes of aging and early dementia.

A diagnosis of the mild neurocognitive disorder is given when there is evidence of modest cognitive decline from a previous level of performance in one or more cognitive domains: complex attention, executive function, learning, and memory, language, perceptual-motor, or social cognition. The diagnosis is based on:

• Concern of the individual, a knowledgeable informant, or the clinician that there has been a mild decline in cognitive function; and
• A modest impairment in cognitive performance, preferably documented by standardized neuropsychological testing, or in its absence, another quantified clinical assessment.

The cognitive deficits do not interfere with the individual’s independence in everyday activities, such as paying bills or managing medications, but greater effort, compensatory strategies, or accommodation may be required. The cognitive impairment does not occur exclusively in the context of delirium and is not better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., major depressive disorder, schizophrenia). Some minor impairment in memory may accompany normal aging.

The mild neurocognitive disorder may be due to:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Frontotemporal lobar degeneration
• Lewy body disease
• Vascular disease
• Traumatic brain injury
• Substance/medication use
• HIV infection
• Prion Disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Huntington’s disease
• Another medical condition
• Multiple medical conditions
• An unspecified cause