OBJECTIVES: Automated tests can assess aspects of cognitive function which cannot be assessed using traditional non-automated techniques. To build on previous findings that patients with minimal cognitive impairment show slower information retrieval (Nicholl et al, 1995), the present analysis compared 74 patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to healthy controls (n=1409), and patients with mild, moderate and moderately-severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD; n=764).  METHODS: Three CDR System tests of attention were administered (digit vigilance, simple and choice reaction time) and two episodic memory tests (word and picture recognition). For attentionPower of Attention (the ability to focus attention) and Continuity of Attention (the ability to sustain attention) were used. For recognition, the abilities to correctly identify previous stimuli and reject novel stimuli were analysed, as was speed of response. RESULTS: For Power of Attention, and Word and Picture Recognition Speed, there was a clear continuum of decline from normals through AD.  For Continuity of Attention, Word Recognition Accuracy, and the ability to recognise previous pictures, MCI subjects demonstrated preserved functioning equivalent to controls.  For the ability to reject novel pictures, MCI patients showed deficits comparable to moderate AD patients.  The ability to reject novel pictures is related to activity in the cingulate gyrus, and the impairment in MCI suggests disruptions to this area, which may have consequences for neurogenesis. Overall, the pattern of decline is not consistent across all cognitive functions assessed. CONCLUSIONS: These findings will be discussed in terms of the likelihood that amnestic MCI is a prodrome of AD, which may be the case for episodic memory as assessed by delayed word recall, but not necessarily for aspects of episodic recognition memory or the ability to sustain attention.   This may have implications for treatment of early disease, as well as prevention strategies.