[Diagnosis of cerebral cognitive deficits].

Reduced brain function represents the diagnosis, which is found most often in psychiatry and can be defined most exactly. These impairments of the perception, memory and the intellectual performance may be assigned to several diagnostic fields of the ICD-10-code: mild cognitive disorders, organic amnestic impairments, and dementia. In dementias emotional performance, affectivity, motivation and instinct are disturbed too. Other relevant diseases should be excluded in a differential diagnosis: especially depressive syndromes and delirious states are important: relevant hints for the correct diagnosis "depression" are the classic symptoms: retardation, reduced general performance and irritability, which results in sleeplessness, feelings of weakness and inability to work, reduced vital functions, delusions and suicidal ideas in depressive patients, disturbances of orientation and impairment of higher cortical functions in demented people. Objectivation by psychological tests (ergopsychometry) are shortly described. Differential diagnostic doubts and problems may occur in patients with dementive cerebral processes and are caused by less experienced medical doctors especially because of the difficulty, to clarify possible cognitive disorders in depressive persons and last but not least because of the intention of some patients to dissimulate. Additional clinical tests e.g. EEG, cerebral computer-tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings, etc. are necessary for further differentiation.