Defining and validating a short form Montreal Cognitive Assessment (s-MoCA) for use in neurodegenerative disease

2016/04/12 by David R. Roalf, David R Roalf, Tyler M. Moore +22 · 73 citations
Medicine · Neuroscience · Psychology · #Cognition #Cognitive impairment #Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research #Disease #Functional Brain Connectivity Studies #Gerontology #Internal medicine #Medicine #Montreal Cognitive Assessment #Neuroscience #Psychology #Traumatic Brain Injury Research

paper · pdf · doi:10.1136/jnnp-2015-312723

published in Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry 87(12), 1303-1310 (BMJ)

openalex publication_date 2016/04/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Screening for cognitive deficits is essential in neurodegenerative disease. Screening tests, such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), are easily administered, correlate with neuropsychological performance and demonstrate diagnostic utility. Yet, administration time is too long for many clinical settings. METHODS: Item response theory and computerised adaptive testing simulation were employed to establish an abbreviated MoCA in 1850 well-characterised community-dwelling individuals with and without neurodegenerative disease. RESULTS: 8 MoCA items with high item discrimination and appropriate difficulty were identified for use in a short form (s-MoCA). The s-MoCA was highly correlated with the original MoCA, showed robust diagnostic classification and cross-validation procedures substantiated these items. DISCUSSION: Early detection of cognitive impairment is an important clinical and public health concern, but administration of screening measures is limited by time constraints in demanding clinical settings. Here, we provide as-MoCA that is valid across neurological disorders and can be administered in approximately 5 min.

Citations

• “Mini-mental state”
• The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: A Brief Screening Tool For Mild Cognitive Impairment
• Comparing the Areas under Two or More Correlated Receiver Operating Characteristic Curves: A Nonparametric Approach

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