Anatomic or functional distinction between cortical and subcortical dementia
Is there a rigid anatomic or functional distinction between cortical and subcortical dementia?
No. So-called subcortical dementias may give rise to or be associated with cortical changes and vice versa.
Huntington’s dementia, like most subcortical dementias, causes disturbances of cortical frontal lobe functioning.
Patients with (subcortical) Parkinson’s disease may show atrophy of cortical cells.
Patients with Alzheimers Disease have subcortical changes in deep nuclei, such as the nucleus basalis of Meynert and locus ceruleus.
