Working Memory Impairment in Transient Ischaemic Attack: N-back as a Sensitive Measure for Detection

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuropsychology

Background:

• Transient ischemic attack (TIA) can cause lasting brain changes and cognitive impairment.
• Standard cognitive screening tools may miss early executive function deficits common in vascular cognitive impairment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a working memory (WMem) task as a sensitive indicator of cognitive impairment in TIA patients.
• To assess the utility of the 2-N-back task for TIA-related cognitive changes.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving TIA patients and controls with mimic conditions.
• Participants completed the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and a 2-N-back working memory task.

Main Results:

• TIA patients demonstrated significantly poorer working memory performance on the 2-N-back task compared to controls.
• No significant differences in MoCA scores were found between the TIA and control groups.

Conclusions:

• Working memory assessment may offer a sensitive method for detecting cognitive impairment post-TIA.
• This approach could improve TIA screening, patient triage for support, and interventions to prevent vascular dementia.