TABLE 3.
Examples of Tests for Cognitive Domains and Estimated Time*
| Cognitive Domain | Neuropsychological Tests40 | Estimated Time of Test, min |
|---|---|---|
| Attention and working memory | WAIS-IV (or earlier version) Letter Number Sequencing | 5 |
| WAIS-IV Coding (or earlier version) or other substitution task, written or oral | 5 | |
| Trail Making Testa | 5 to 10 | |
| Digit span backward or digit ordering | 5 | |
| Stroop color-word test | 5 to 10 | |
| Executive function | Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (CST), or modified CST (Nelson’s modification) | 15 |
| Tower of London test–Drexel version, or Stockings of Cambridge (CANTAB) | 10 to 15 | |
| Verbal fluency test, such as letter fluency (COWAT or similar tests), category fluency (animals, supermarket, or similar), or alternating fluency tasks (if a well-standardized version is used). Not more than one verbal fluency test abnormality should be used to satisfy the MCI criterion of two abnormal test performances because of the strong relationship among these tests; 10 points Clock Drawing Test | 5 | |
| Language | WAIS-IV (or earlier version) Similarities | 10 to 15 |
| Confrontation naming task, such as Boston Naming Test (or short-form validated in PD) or Graded Naming Test | 5 to 15 | |
| Memoryb | Word list learning test with delayed recall and recognition conditions, such as Rey’s Auditory Verbal Learning Test, California Verbal Learning Test, Hopkins Verbal Learning Test, and Selective Reminding Test | 10 to 20 |
| Prose recall3 test with a delayed recall condition, such as Wechsler Memory Scale-IV Logical Memory subtest (or earlier version) or Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test paragraph recall subtest | 10 to 15 | |
| Brief Visuospatial Memory Test–Revised (BVMT-R) | 10 to 15 | |
| Visuospatialc function | Benton’s Judgment of Line Orientation | 5 to 10 |
| Hooper Visual Organization Test | 10 | |
| Clock copying (e.g., Royall’s CLOX) | 5 |
Two highly similar tests (e.g., two list learning tests or two story recall tests) should not be used to meet the MCI criterion of two test-score abnormalities. Similarly, highly correlated scores from the same test (e.g., immediate and delayed recall of a word list) should not be used to meet the criterion of two test abnormalities. Abnormality of two highly correlated scores only increases confidence in the existence of impairment.
See also reference no. 40 for references.
Trail Making Test (TMT) Part A, Stroop color-word subtests reading and color naming,48 may be used for this purpose. The TMT and Stroop subtests are timed and give an estimate of manual and articulatory slowness that can be used to judge the significance of the more demanding conditions (e.g., TMT-B, Stroop interference) or of other tests, such as fluency performance. Oral versions of neuropsychological tests may provide alternatives.
In general, prose recall tests are relatively unreliable; therefore, one should administer at least two paragraphs.
Most visual memory tests are less appropriate for PD-MCI because these tests either require motor responses (e.g., drawing of geometric or other figures) or evaluate recognition memory, which is less sensitive to early memory decline. BVMT-R is an exception because it allows for assessment of the motor component via the copy condition.