Un croisement institutionnel entre la neuropsychologie et la psychopathologie dans l’évaluation cognitivoclinique d’un homme âgé

This article is about an 88 years old man's case, hospitalized because of a worrying somatic symptomatology: deterioration of a cardiac deficiency, oedema of bottom legs and anorexia. Actually the patient shows cognitive troubles, but one year ago he has been hospitalized, for a confusional state, associated with comportmental troubles and light temporospacial disorientation. At this time, the cerebral imaging showed a diffuse atrophy, prevalent in frontal level. In front of this case, the diagnostical question proves to be delicate because of the complicated interactions between depression, dementia and normal ageing in the very old age. The main object of this work tries to situate this patient's case in its structural and historical subjective globality, with the help of a clinical thought. The clinical thought of the authors includes an interface with neuropsychological and psychopathological approaches and tries to overtake the only quantitative point of view of a technical evaluation.