Definition
Pseudodementia is characterized by symptoms of both dementia and depression without the diagnosis of either disorder. It is believed that the dementia symptoms are caused by an underlining depressive psychological illness. While most often seen in the elderly population as one would expect, it has been documented in other populations as well. While dementia usually presents gradually, pseudodementia has a rapid onset. Additionally, pseudodementia has been shown to be reversible with treatment of the depressive symptoms. Therefore, organic causes for pseudodementia are questioned (Yousef, Ryan, Lambert, Pitt, & Kellett, 1998).
Historical Background
The term pseudodementia was first used by Wells in 1979 to describe patients who were being misdiagnosed with dementia when in fact they were performing poorly on cognitive tests for reasons of depression (Lantz & Buchalter, 2001)....
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Cho, M., Lyoo, I., Lee, D., Kwon, J., Lee, J., Lee, D. et al. (2002). Brain single photon emission computed tomography findings in depressive pseudodementia patients. Journal of Affective Disorders, 69(1–3), 159–166.
Kiloh, L. G. (1961). “Pseudodementia”. Acta Psychiatr Scand, 37, 336–351.
Lantz, M., & Buchalter, E. (2001). Pseudodementia. Cognitive decline caused by untreated depression may be reversed with treatment. Geriatrics, 56(10), 42–43.
McNeil, J. (2001). No mistaken identity: Pseudodementia is real and treatable. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49(4), 492–493.
Sáez-Fonseca, J., Lee, L., & Walker, Z. (2007). Long-term outcome of depressive pseudodementia in the elderly. Journal of Affective Disorders, 101(1–3), 123–129.
Wells, C. E. (1979). Pseudodementia. Am J Psychiatry, 136(7), 895–900.
Yousef, G., Ryan, W., Lambert, T., Pitt, B., & Kellett, J. (1998). A preliminary report: a new scale to identify the pseudodementia syndrome. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 13(6), 389–399.
Zapotoczky, H. (1998). Problems of differential diagnosis between depressive pseudodementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Neural Transmission, Supplementum, 53, 91–95.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Zichlin, M. (2011). Pseudodementia. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1145
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79948-3_1145
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-79947-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79948-3
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science