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Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Performance and Domain-Specific Index Scores in Amnestic Versus Aphasic Dementia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2020

Jessica L. Wood Open the ORCID record for Jessica L. Wood [Opens in a new window] ,
Sandra Weintraub ,
Christina Coventry ,
Jiahui Xu ,
Hui Zhang ,
Emily Rogalski ,
Marek-Marsel Mesulam  and
Tamar Gefen
Jessica L. Wood*
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Sandra Weintraub
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Christina Coventry
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Jiahui Xu
Affiliation:
Division of Biostatistics, Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Quantitative Data Sciences Core (QDSC), Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Hui Zhang
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Division of Biostatistics, Department of Preventive Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Quantitative Data Sciences Core (QDSC), Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Emily Rogalski
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Marek-Marsel Mesulam
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Tamar Gefen
Affiliation:
Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
*
*Correspondence and reprint requests to: Jessica L. Wood, BA, Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, 300 East Superior Street Tarry – 8, Chicago, IL60611, USA. E-mail: Jessica.wood@northwestern.edu
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Abstract

Objective:

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) is a popular and simple-to-administer screening instrument to detect cognitive impairment. The MoCA generates a total score and six domain-specific index scores: (1) Memory, (2) Executive Functioning, (3) Attention, (4) Language, (5) Visuospatial, and (6) Orientation. It is unclear whether these MoCA scores can differentiate between distinct clinical dementia syndromes. This study compared MoCA Index scores between amnestic dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT) and primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a language-based dementia.

Method:

Baseline MoCA data were analyzed from 33 DAT, 37 PPA, and 83 cognitively normal individuals enrolled in the Clinical Core of the Northwestern Alzheimer’s Disease Center. A one-way analysis of covariance adjusted for age was used to compare MoCA scores among groups. A logistic regression model was implemented to observe individual likelihood of group affiliation based on MoCA Index scores.

Results:

The mean MoCA total score was significantly higher in controls compared to both patient groups (p < .001) but did not differ between DAT and PPA groups. However, in accordance with salient clinical features commonly observed in DAT versus PPA, Memory and Orientation Index scores were lowest in the DAT group (p < .001), whereas Language and Attention Index scores were lowest in the PPA group (p < .001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the individual effects of Memory (p = .001), Language (p = .002), and Orientation (p = .025) Indices were significant.

Conclusions:

MoCA Index scores can help differentiate among distinct cognitive syndromes, suggesting it may be a useful brief screening tool to detect domain-specific cognitive impairment.

Keywords

Primary progressive aphasiaAlzheimer’s diseaseCognitionAssessmentNeurodegenerationDementias
Type
Brief Communication
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 26 , Issue 9 , October 2020 , pp. 927 - 931
Copyright
Copyright © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

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