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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Mar 4.
Published in final edited form as: J Gerontol Nurs. 2012 Dec;38(12):22–37. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20121106-02

Table 1.

Examples of Neuropsychological Tests and tests of Daily Functioning Commonly Used in the assessment of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Tests Required time, minutes Scoring or psychometric properties related to MCI
Cognitive function a
  • Executive Function

  • 5

  • T scores are used with higher scores indicating better performance.

  • 3 – 5

  • Maximum time for each test (A and B) is 300 seconds. Lower scores mean better performance.

  • 5

  • Different ways of scoring. The quickest way to score is to divide the clock into four quadrants and counting the numbers in the correct quadrant. A total score of 7, with >3 indicating impaired performance.

  • Language

  • 3 – 5

  • Items named within one minute are counted. Higher scores mean better performance.

  • Memory and Learning

  • 15

  • Items recalled are counted with higher scores indicating better performance.

  • 15

  • T scores are used with higher scores indicating better performance.

  • Multiple Domainsb

  • 12 – 20

  • The total score is 100. ACE-R < 82: possible MCI. Sensitivity = 0.84, Specificity = 1.00.

  • 10 – 12

  • The total score is 30. MoCA < 26: possible MCI. Sensitivity = 0.90, Specificity = 0.87

  • 10

  • The total score is 30. MMSE ≥ 24: possible MCI Sensitivity = 0.45, Specificity = 0.69.

  • 3

  • The total score is 3. Mini-Cog < 3: possible MCI. Sensitivity = 0.58.

  • 4 – 10

  • The total score is 30. Less than high school education: 19.5 – 23.5: mild neurocognitive disorder. Sensitivity = 0.92, Specificity = 1

  • High school education or higher: 21.5 – 25.5: mild neurocognitive disorder. Sensitivity = 0.95, Specificity = 0.98.

Behavioral and Neuropsychiatric symptoms c
  • Depression

  • 5

  • The total score is 60 of 12 items. A score ≥ 16: depression.

  • 5 – 10

  • The total score of 15 of 15 items. A score ≥ 5: depression

  • Apathy

  • N/A

  • The total score is 36 of 3 dimensions. A score > 2: potentially cognitively impaired

  • Multiple Domains

  • 10 – 15

  • The total score of 12 measuring the frequency of the symptoms. A score > 0: having neuropsychiatric symptoms, and increased risk of dementia.

  • 10 – 15

  • The total of 12 items higher scores indicating more symptoms.

  • 20 – 30

  • 5 items are rated by present, absent, or having occurred since the illness began but not in the past month. The other 46 items are rated by frequency of occurrence from 0 (has not occurred since illness began) to 9 (unable to rate). A total score is calculated with higher scores indicating more symptoms.

Daily Functioning d
  • IADL

  • 10 – 15

  • For each task, there is a required completion time and an error code. Participants with a major error on a given task are scored with the maximum time for that task. Participants with a minor error are scored with their actual completion time plus a "time penalty" defined as 1 standard deviation of the time data of all participants who completed that particular task with no error. Those with no error are scored with their actual completion time. A mean Z score for time on 5 tasks is computed with higher scores indicating lower performance. Compared to controls, persons with MCI had similar accuracy but took significantly longer to complete the functional activities.

  • 15 – 20 for short-form; 45 – 60 for full form

  • Age and education matched norm data is available. Compared to controls, persons with MCI had significantly poorer IADL functioning.

  • 20

  • Summary scores for each dimension in ECog are developed. Mean of summary scores is computed with higher score indicating poorer performance. At a specificity value of .80, the ECog had a sensitivity of 0.75 in discriminating MCI from dementia, and 0.67 in discriminating normal controls from MCI.

  • Multiple domains (BADL and IADL)

  • 15 – 20

  • The mean score from 25 items is computed with higher score indicating better performance. Distinguish MCI from mild dementia with a cutoff at 3.3, sensitivity = 0.81, specificity = 0.72.

  • 10

  • The mean score from 23 items is computed with higher score indicating better performance. Distinguish MCI from controls with an optimal cutoff at 52, sensitivity = 0.89, specificity = 0.97.

  • 5 – 10

  • A score summarizes 6 CDR ratings with higher scores indicating better performance. MCI group with a Total Box Score ≥ 1.5 exhibited amyloid-beta level similar to controls; MCI group with a Total Box Score < 1.5 exhibited amyloid-beta level similar to AD.

Note: CERAD = The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease. ACE-R = Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination Revised. MoCA = Montreal Cognitive Assessment. CAMCOG = the cognitive and self-contained part of the Cambridge Examination for Mental Disorders of the Elderly. MMSE = Mini Mental State Examination. SLUMS = The Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination. CES-D = Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. GDS = Geriatric Depression Scale. NPI = Neuropsychiatric Inventory. CBRSD = Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Behavioral Rating Scale for Dementia. BSRS = Behavior Symptom Rating Scale. BADL = Basic Activities of Daily Living. IADL = Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. MDS = Minimum Data Set. TIADL = Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. SIB-R = Scales of Independent Behavior-Revised. ECog = Everyday Cognition. ADCS-ADL = the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living Inventory. CDR = Clinical Dementia Rating.

a

1 or 1.5 SD below age- and education-matched norm data indicate deficit in respective cognitive domain.

b

Information from systematic review (Lonie, et al., 2009);

c

Information from systematic reviews (Apostolova & Cummings, 2008; Monastero, et al., 2009); all instruments have been validated in persons with MCI. Because these are not diagnostic tests, sensitivity and specificity are not available.

d

Information from systematic review (Gold);

e

Information from individual study (Maccioni, et al., 2006).

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