Narrative discourse in subjects with mild cognitive impairment

Background: The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment is complex because of the distinction of the daily living alteration. The narrative discourse is poorly described in the mild cognitive impairment. The aim of the study was compare the performance on narrative discourse among mild cognitive impairment subjects and healthy controls. Methods: a narrative protocol was developed and by elicitation with images was assessed subjects with mild cognitive impairment and healthy controls. Results: It was observed that mild cognitive impairment patients had a deficient performance in the resolution of the story, global and local coherence, presence and maintenance of the topic, repetition of the event, excessive use of pronouns and unspecific references, false starts and internal corrections. Conclusion: These results have potential as a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment tool.