The relationship of semantic intrusions to different etiological subtypes of MCI and cognitively healthy older adults

Introduction: There is increasing evidence that susceptibility to proactive semantic interference (PSI) and the failure to recover from PSI (frPSI) as evidenced by intrusion errors may be early cognitive markers of both preclinical and prodromal Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: One hundred forty‐five participants were administered extensive clinical and neuropsychological evaluations including the Loewenstein‐Acevedo Scales for Semantic Interference and Learning (LASSI‐L), a sensitive cognitive stress test measuring PSI and frPSI. Participants also underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and amyloid positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging. Results: PSI and frPSI errors were much more prevalent in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI)‐AD (amyloid positive) group than the other diagnostic groups. The number of intrusion errors observed across the other MCI groups without amyloid pathology and those with normal cognition were comparable. Discussion: Semantic intrusion errors on the LASSI‐L occur much less frequently in persons who have different types of non–AD‐related MCI and may be used as an early cognitive marker of prodromal AD.