Memory and cognitive screening · St. Louis
Memory and cognitive screening
Memory and cognitive screening here uses the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: about ten minutes with pencil and paper, covering recall, attention, executive function, language, visuospatial construction and orientation. Dr. Padda is a certified rater for the instrument.
A short structured screen is not a diagnosis. Its value is that it produces a number you can compare against the same number two years from now.
Why does a baseline cognitive score matter?
Most people who worry about their memory are worried about a change. The trouble is that without a prior measurement, there is nothing to compare the change against, and clinical impressions of “the same as before” are unreliable over years.
A structured screening instrument fixes that. It is short, it is standardized, and repeating it under the same conditions produces a comparison that means something. Dr. Padda is a certified rater for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, which is the instrument used.
What does a cognitive test check?
- Short-term recall.
- Attention and concentration.
- Executive function — planning, sequencing and switching between tasks.
- Language, including naming and fluency.
- Visuospatial construction.
- Orientation in time and place.
It takes roughly ten minutes and it is done with pencil and paper. Bring your glasses and your hearing aids — a screen taken without them measures your vision and hearing, not your cognition.
Why is cognitive screening part of a cardiometabolic assessment?
Because the vascular and metabolic measurements taken in the same visit are relevant to it. Blood vessels in the brain are the same blood vessels being assessed in the limbs, insulin resistance affects the brain as well as the periphery, and attention and executive function are part of how a person recovers from a stumble. Screening cognition next to balance is not a coincidence — it is the pairing that makes fall prevention work.
What does a low cognitive test score mean?
It does not mean dementia. Scores are lowered by depression, poor sleep, pain, medication, thyroid disease, B12 deficiency, hearing loss, anxiety about being tested, and simply having a bad day. Every one of those is worth finding, and several are correctable. A low score is a reason for a proper evaluation, not a conclusion.
If a family member has noticed a change that you have not, take that seriously. It is one of the more reliable early signals and it is a good reason to establish a baseline now.
If you are a clinician: the same subject written for the person ordering the test is at cognitive assessment and fall prevention.
Talk to someone about testing
Tell us what you are trying to find out and we will explain which Measura assessments answer that question, what each one involves, and how the results are reviewed with a clinician.
4477 Woodson Rd, Suite 201, St. Louis, MO 63134. Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please do not send symptoms, diagnoses or images through a web form — a website form is not a secure medical channel. Send your name and number and we will call you back.
Frequently asked questions
Will this tell me if I have dementia?
No. It is a screening instrument that produces a baseline and flags who needs a fuller evaluation. What a baseline is for.
I am nervous about being tested. Does that affect the score?
It can, which is one reason a single score is treated cautiously and repeat testing matters. Why one score is not enough.
Can anything I do change the score?
Sleep, hearing correction, treating depression, correcting B12 and thyroid abnormalities, and reviewing medications all can. What a result can and cannot tell you.
How often should it be repeated?
Usually annually once a baseline exists, or sooner if something has changed. How often to repeat testing.
What is the MoCA test?
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, is a short, structured screening instrument done with pencil and paper in about ten minutes. It covers short-term recall, attention and concentration, executive function, language, visuospatial construction, and orientation in time and place. It is the screen used here, and Dr. Padda is a certified rater for the instrument.
What is the purpose of a cognitive test?
To create a baseline. Most people who worry about their memory are worried about a change, and without an earlier measurement there is nothing to compare that change against. A short, standardized screen produces a number you can compare with the same number later. It is not a diagnosis; it flags who needs a fuller evaluation.
How do I prepare for a cognitive test?
Bring your glasses and your hearing aids. A screen taken without them measures your vision and hearing, not your cognition. Arrive rested if you can, because poor sleep, pain, medication and anxiety about being tested can all lower a score. The screen itself takes roughly ten minutes with pencil and paper.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP, medical director of Measura. Last reviewed .