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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
A Machine Learning Approach to Design an Efficient Selective Screening of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: January 11, 2020
Global Examination of Mental State: An open tool for the brief evaluation of cognition
Sara Mondini1,2, Sonia Montemurro3, Veronica Pucci1,2
1Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology (FISSPA), University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
Background:
The aim of this paper is to present a freely accessible new instrument for the evaluation of cognition: the Global Examination of Mental State (GEMS).
Methods:
It is made up of 11 items tapping into a range of skills, such as Orientation in time and space, Memory, Working memory, Visuo-spatial, Visuo-constructional and Planning abilities, Perceptual and visual Attention, Language (Naming, Comprehension, and Verbal fluency), and Pragmatics.
Results:
The psychometric strengths of this screening are: (1) extensive and updated normative data on the adult Italian population (from 18 to 100 years old); (2) absence of ceiling effect in healthy individuals, which allows to better detect interindividual variability; (3) comparison of the global scores with normative data taking into account Cognitive Reserve rather than only education, thus increasing diagnostic accuracy; (4) thresholds for significant change over time and the possibility to use parallel versions (GEMS-A/GEMS-B) for test-retest; (5) solid psychometric properties and data on discriminant validity; and (6) free access to all materials (record forms, instructions, and cut-off scores) on the web under a Creative Common License.
Conclusions:
With all these characteristics, GEMS could be a very useful paper-and-pencil instrument for cognitive screening.
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