Deficits in emotional decoding abilities were described in patients with Alzheimer's dementia and amnestic type of mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI). However the pattern of decline and its dependency on the type of emotional stimuli has not been investigated so far. In our study, 5 sets of cartoon-like drawings portraying various human emotions of increasing complexity were presented to patients with very mild and mild Alzheimer's dementia, a-MCI and control subjects. Patients with Alzheimer's dementia, a-MCI and control subjects decoded emotions with similar accuracy. The pattern of decoding abilities was similar in Alzheimer's dementia, a-MCI patients and healthy control subjects. Decoding abilities depended on a manner the emotional stimuli were presented.