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Evaluating Recall and Recognition Memory Using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment: Applicability for Alzheimer's and
Charles Van Liew1,2, Maya S Santoro3, Jody Goldstein4
1Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA cavanliew@yahoo.com.
Abstract:
We sought to investigate whether the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) could provide a brief assessment of recall and recognition using Huntington disease (HD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) as disorders characterized by different memory deficits. This study included 80 participants with HD, 64 participants with AD, and 183 community-dwelling control participants. Random-effects hierarchical logistic regressions were performed to assess the relative performance of the normal control (NC), participants with HD, and participants with AD on verbal free recall, cued recall, and multiple-choice recognition on the MoCA. The NC participants performed significantly better than participants with AD at all the 3 levels of assessment. No difference existed between participants with HD and NC for cued recall, but NC participants performed significantly better than participants with HD on free recall and recognition. The participants with HD performed significantly better than participants with AD at all the 3 levels of assessment. The MoCA appears to be a valuable, brief cognitive assessment capable of identifying specific memory deficits consistent with known differences in memory profiles.
Insights
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) effectively distinguishes memory deficits in Alzheimer disease (AD) and Huntington disease (HD). It accurately identifies specific recall and recognition impairments in these neurological conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Huntington disease (HD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) present with distinct memory impairment profiles.
- Brief cognitive assessments are crucial for early detection and differentiation of neurodegenerative conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Montreal Cognitive Assessment's (MoCA) utility in assessing verbal free recall, cued recall, and recognition.
- To determine if MoCA can differentiate memory deficits characteristic of HD and AD.
Main Methods:
- Inclusion of 80 participants with HD, 64 with AD, and 183 healthy controls (NC).
- Utilized random-effects hierarchical logistic regressions to analyze MoCA performance across recall and recognition tasks.
- Compared performance across normal controls (NC), HD, and AD groups.
Main Results:
- Normal controls (NC) outperformed AD participants on all memory measures.
- NC participants showed no significant difference in cued recall compared to HD participants, but outperformed them in free recall and recognition.
- HD participants performed significantly better than AD participants across all memory assessments.
Conclusions:
- The MoCA serves as a valuable and brief tool for assessing cognitive function, particularly memory.
- MoCA can identify specific memory deficits, aligning with the known differential memory profiles of Huntington disease and Alzheimer disease.
- The findings support MoCA's role in differentiating between these neurodegenerative disorders based on memory performance.
