RS510 Chap.6 Cognitive Domains and Standardised Assessment Batteries
Cognitive Domains and Standardised Assessment Batteries
Screen, then go deeper
The lecture's six domains are attention, memory, executive function, visuospatial and constructional skill, language and motor skills.
Assessment starts with a screen such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, the HK Brief Cognitive Test or the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination, and goes further when the screen shows weakness, the referrer asks, the client or carers report difficulty, or real life and the screen disagree.
The named tools
For attention the Test of Everyday Attention, for memory the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test and the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation, for executive function the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Tower of London, Stroop and the dysexecutive battery, and for perception the LOTCA, the Behavioural Inattention Test, the VOSP and the Rey figure.
Task analysis of a goal activity sits beside them all.
Matching tools to the person
The batteries differ in what they demand of the person as well as in what they measure. The Fuld Object Memory Evaluation is designed for people aged seventy to ninety and removes the influence of poor eyesight or hearing, language difficulties and cultural differences by having objects identified by touch.
The dynamic version of the LOTCA adds structured cues to assess learning potential and awareness, and children's versions exist for the everyday attention and everyday memory tests. Choosing among them is a judgement about the client, which is why the assessment section of a programme should explain each choice.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Six cognitive domains
- 02
Screening with MoCA, HKBCT and NCSE
- 03
Four triggers for further domain assessment
- 04
Education effects on screening scores
- 05
Bedside checks and standardised tests by domain
- 06
Current performance and task analysis
- 07
Administration times of the main batteries
- 08
Executive, memory and perceptual batteries
Worked example · free
Pick a screen and a follow-up battery for a community client
- 2Choose and justify the screen.
- 2Identify the domain to follow up.
- 2Choose and justify the battery.
Key terms
- Screening Test
- A short assessment across several domains, such as the HK Brief Cognitive Test, used to decide which domains need closer testing.
- Unilateral Neglect
- A visuospatial disorder in which a person fails to attend to one side of space, measured with tests such as the Behavioural Inattention Test.
- Stroop Test
- A test of inhibiting interference in which the person names ink colour while suppressing the automatic act of reading the word.
- Dysexecutive Questionnaire
- A twenty-item questionnaire completed by the person and a family member or carer about executive problems in daily life.
- Tower of London
- A planning test in which balls are moved one at a time within peg limits to match a goal in as few moves as possible.
Cognitive Domains and Standardised Assessment Batteries FAQ
When should a domain be assessed beyond the screening test?
The lecture gives four triggers: weak screening performance in that domain, a request from the referrer, difficulty reported by the client or caregivers, and a discrepancy between real-world functioning and the screening result. Any one is enough, and naming it in the report shows why the extra testing was needed.
How long do the main assessment batteries take?
The practical session gives under fifteen minutes for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, under ten for the HK Brief Cognitive Test, fifteen to twenty for the status examination, about thirty for the Rivermead, thirty to forty for the inattention test, forty-five to sixty for the everyday attention test and forty-five to ninety for the LOTCA, which may be split across sessions.
Which tests look at executive function?
At the bedside, the trail-switching and animal-naming items of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. As standardised tests, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for flexibility, the Tower of London for planning, the Stroop test for inhibition, the dysexecutive battery for daily-life problems, and the BRIEF, which the lecture also lists.
What does the Behavioural Inattention Test involve?
It assesses visual neglect through two sets of subtests. The conventional subtests include line crossing, letter and star cancellation, figure copying, line bisection and representational drawing. The behavioural subtests use everyday tasks such as coin sorting, phone dialling, reading a menu or an article, telling and setting the time, copying, map navigation and card sorting, and the whole test takes thirty to forty minutes.
Assessment move
Make a three-column card for each domain: a bedside check, one standardised test and one everyday task you could analyse. Twelve cards cover the chapter, and the card for your own client group becomes the assessment section of your programme.
