[The diagnostic value of tests for mental control]

Designated as Mental Control, the recitation of word lists and arithmetic progressions is often used for a cursory examination of attention and concentration in elderly patients. We studied the psychometric properties of the EMCT (Expanded Mental Control Test), which consists of 12 mental control tasks. The test was given to 174 residents of rest homes and semi-independent housing projects (aged 68 to 94) and 74 neurologic patients (aged 65 to 87) who had been referred for neuropsychological assessment. The reliability of the EMCT was satisfactory. Performance was related to education level but not to sex or age. In healthy subjects the EMCT score was associated with the backward digit span score. The correlations between the EMCT and subtests of the Amsterdam Dementia Screening (Ads6) in patients appeared to depend on the complexity of the target behavior. Performance on the EMCT may reflect the functioning of the Supervisory Attentional System postulated by Shallice.