Concordance of the Montreal cognitive assessment with standard neuropsychological measures

Abstract

Introduction The concordance of the Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) with more comprehensive neuropsychological measures remains unclear. This study examined the individual MoCA domains with more comprehensive and commonly used neuropsychological measures to determine the degree of overlap. Methods Data included individuals seen in an outpatient neurology clinic specializing in neurodegenerative disease who were administered the MoCA and also underwent neuropsychological assessment (n = 471). A principal component analysis with varimax rotation was completed using the MoCA domain scores and comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation measures. Results Four factors emerged accounting for 55.6% of the variance: (1) visuospatial/executive functioning; (2) memory; (3) attention; and (4) language. The individual MoCA domain scores demonstrated high factor loadings with standard neuropsychological measures purported to measure similar cognitive constructs. Discussion These findings provide empirical validation for the MoCA domain classifications, lending further support for the use of the MoCA as a cognitive screen that reflects similar constructs as those measured by a comprehensive battery.

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease: Association between patient-reported and clinically measured outcomes

“…The use of the MoCA, rather than a more comprehensive neuropsychological battery, limits the ability to detect changes in some cognitive functions pertinent to PD. However, the MoCA has been shown to detect domains in individual deficits and a more comprehensive assessment would not be feasible in such a large cohort [23, 24]. Lastly, our analysis did not control for the presence or degree of depression, which can mimic or cause cognitive impairment.…”

“…From each patient-visit, the following data were collected: age, diagnosis (PD or control), gender (self-reported: male or female), education level (17 possible responses), MDS-UPDRS (32 subjective cognitive scores, 33 objective motor scores) [21], and MoCA [22] scores. The MoCA contains 10 sections which assess six proposed cognitive domains [22], confirmed by factor analysis [23, 24] to roughly characterize separate cognitive domains with construct validity. Though the positive and negative predictive value of individual MoCA item performance does not replace a detailed cognitive evaluation [25], it is a reasonable screen for individual cognitive domains in a large study sample [15].…”

The predictive validity of the MoCA‐LD for assessing mental capacity in adults with intellectual disabilities

“…Good internal consistency ( α = 0.78) has also been confirmed when using the test for people with intellectual disabilities (Edge et al, ). Construct validity is supported by significant correlations with performance on a comprehensive test battery comprising a number of different neuropsychological measures: items from the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test; Hopkins Verbal Learning Test; Wechsler Memory Scale; Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System; Boston Naming Test; and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (Vogel, Banks, Cummings, & Miller, ).…”

Computerized vs. Paper-Pencil Assessment of Cognitive Change following Acute Ischemic Stroke

“…orientation, visuospatial ability, executive functions, language, memory, attention and abstraction) scored out of 30 [28]. A score under 26 on the MoCA is usually considered abnormal.…”