Your cognitions involve multiple brain functions, including judgment, learning, reasoning, and memory. Unfortunately, injury or disease could cause brain malfunction, which may affect the quality of your life. Your doctor may recommend cognitive testing Atlanta to reveal complications in brain structure and function and thus develop an effective approach to restore optimal cognition.
There are various cognitive tests for brain function evaluation. Your healthcare provider will personalize your tests depending on your symptoms and concerns. Typical cognitive tests involve answering questions or completing basic tasks such as spelling and counting. They test your language, memory, thinking process, and ability to identify things. Read on to know why you would need cognitive testing.
Why do you need cognitive testing?
Cognitive testing is necessary if your brain impairment is causing hindrances to optimal living. For example, if you are having problems remembering what you learned in school or keeping up with deadlines at work, you need to consider undergoing cognitive testing to reveal underlying problems that might explain your symptoms.
Cognitive testing is an effective diagnostic tool that your doctor will recommend to understand the severity of your mental concern and the need for urgent care. Consider taking the test if you misplace things often to identify underlying problems ad begin management protocols before adversities like extreme brain damage occur.
The significance of cognitive testing for mild cognitive impairment
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition that affects older adults. The main symptom associated with this brain malfunction is memory loss. It is common for older adults to forget things. However, clinical intervention is necessary when this problem affects their life, for example, if it causes them to misplace important things.
Clinicians recommend cognitive testing to help patients with MCI understand their mental status, especially since having this underlying issue increases the risk of dementia. Results from cognitive testing will help you stay updated with your MCI and thus reveal the need for urgent intervention to limit the development of dementia.
What to expect during a cognitive test
As mentioned previously, there are different cognitive tests, and your provider will pick the most relevant one. Therefore, the test details vary based on the type of cognitive test your doctor performs.
For instance, a Montreal cognitive assessment involves categorizing images, copying shapes, and memorizing a short list; it is designed to find mild cognitive impairment and lasts around 15 minutes.
There is also a mini-mental state exam, which lasts around 10 minutes. For this test, your provider will require you to count backward, say the current date, and identify objects in the room. Your doctor may recommend this type of cognitive test if they suspect you have more serious issues.
A mini cog test is the shortest and simplest test, which involves memorizing and recalling a list of three unrelated words and drawing a clock. The test is easy to perform and is mostly used to detect dementia in its early stages.
No preparations are involved for any of the tests, and there are no risks to having the tests.
Contact Psychiatric Consultants of Atlanta to discuss with your doctor about cognitive testing and how you can benefit from it.