Cleveland Clinic: Health Library: Diagnostics & Testing.Department of Health and Human Services Healthy Brain Initiative. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Department of Health and Human Services Cognitive Impairment: A Call for Action, Now! 2011 Feb. Learn more about laboratory tests, reference ranges, and understanding results. If you have questions or are concerned about your results, talk with your provider. If you have cognitive impairment that can't be cured, medicines and healthy lifestyle changes may help slow the loss of brain function over time. Concussion or other head injury from an accident or fall.Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, or stress.

Lack of certain vitamins, such as vitamin B12, or minerals.You may be tested for treatable conditions such as: Which tests you have will depend on your medical history, a physical exam, and the results of cognitive testing. Your provider may also order tests to confirm or rule out treatable conditions that could be causing cognitive impairment. These detailed tests check your ability to plan, solve problems, and make decisions. The neurologist may do longer tests called 'neuropsychological testing' to learn more about how your brain is working. But your provider can't make a diagnosis on these test results alone.ĭepending on your score, your provider may have you see a neurologist (a doctor with special training diagnosing and treating problems with the brain and nervous system). If your score is lower than normal, it usually means you have some level of cognitive impairment. If you or your family are concerned about your brain function, but your test results were normal, talk with your provider about having another type of cognitive test. If your test score is normal, you could still have some cognitive impairment that the test may not show. Your cognitive test result will be a score. Other names: cognitive assessment, cognitive screening, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA test, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE), and Mini-Cog Even if the cause of cognitive impairment can't be treated, the information you gain from cognitive testing can help you and your family plan for your future care. That helps your health care provider order the right tests to learn more about your cognitive impairment and whether it can be treated. But the test results can show whether you have a problem with how your brain is functioning that needs more testing. But cognitive impairment caused by dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease, has no cure and gets worse over time.Ĭognitive testing alone can't diagnose dementia or any other cause of cognitive impairment. Treating these conditions may improve cognitive impairment or cure it completely. Some of these conditions may be treatable, such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), depression, and side effects from medicine. It can be caused by many medical and mental health conditions. The most commonly used tests usually take 15 minutes or less.Ĭognitive impairment is more common among older people, but it's not a normal part of aging. They generally involve answering questions and doing simple tasks, such as repeating lists of words or spelling words backwards. There are many different cognitive tests that check for cognitive impairment. Problems with cognition are called 'cognitive impairment.' Cognitive testing checks for problems with certain brain functions called 'cognition.' Cognition includes thinking, learning, remembering, and using judgment and language.

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