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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: October 13, 2016
A comparison study of mild cognitive impairment with 3 memory tests among Chinese individuals
Qihao Guo1, Qianhua Zhao, Meirong Chen
1Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. guoqihao@hotmail.com
Objective:
To examine whether 3 common memory tests differ statistically in terms of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) discrimination rates and conversion rates to Alzheimer disease.
Methods:
A sample of 329 Chinese patients who consulted our memory clinic in Shanghai were tested using tasks including the auditory verbal learning test (AVLT), the logical memory (LM) test, the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test, and other neuropsychologic tasks. One hundred and forty-nine of these patients were tested again using the identical tests 2 years later. The diagnose standard of probable Alzheimer disease is the same as the standard of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke-Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders Association.
Results:
The results of the MCI discrimination rates are as follows: AVLT-II (51%) >AVLT-I (31%) > complex figure test-II (27%) >LM-I (21%)=LM-II (21%) (I-immediate recall; II-delayed recall). The MCI group categorized based on LM-II cutoff has a higher conversion rate per year (24%), but also a higher reversal rate and missed diagnosis rate, whereas the group based on AVLT-II cutoff has a lower conversion rate per year (12%), but also a lower reversal rate and missed diagnosis rate.
Conclusions:
The MCI discrimination rate and the conversion rate among different episodic memory tests are differ considerably.
