Following the success of the previous meetings on dementia and other cognitive impairments in Parkinson's disease (and other movement disorders) which were covered in Jerusalem, Amsterdam and Montreal, we are now following up with another congress on these topics which is planned to take place in Salzburg, Austria on October 24-27, 2004.

Our aim is to discuss the new developments in the understanding of cognitive and psychiatric aspects in Parkinson's disease and related disorders. During our meeting in Salzburg we shall have an opportunity to deliberate on brain diseases and how they contribute to cognitive decline. We shall try to identify the specific psychological markers, if any, of Parkinson's dementia and of dementia with Lewy bodies, and also the anatomic and genetic factors involved. The identification of cortical Lewy bodies in recent years has contributed to our understanding but at the same time raised new and still unanswered questions. The overlap with Alzheimer's disease will be a central issue, as will be the neurochemical changes seen in these disorders.