In the absence of a standardized technique for reliably and comprehensively describing changes in behavioral disturbances of dementia, the Behavioral Pathology Committee of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) sought to develop a scale that could be used to evaluate a wide range of psychopathologic signs and symptoms in patients with differing severity of dementia. The goal of the committee was to develop a scale composed of well-anchored, homogeneously scaled items that could be administered by interviewers without extensive psychiatric training.