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The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease

Chan, D; Gallaher, LM; Moodley, K; Minati, L; Burgess, N; Hartley, T; (2016) The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Visualized Experiments (116) , Article e54454. 10.3791/54454. Green open access

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Abstract

This protocol describes the administration of the 4 Mountains Test (4MT), a short test of spatial memory, in which memory for the topographical layout of four mountains within a computer-generated landscape is tested using a delayed match-to-sample paradigm. Allocentric spatial memory is assessed by altering the viewpoint, colors and textures between the initially presented and target images. Allocentric spatial memory is a key function of the hippocampus, one of the earliest brain regions to be affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and impairment of hippocampal function predates the onset of dementia. It was hypothesized that performance on the 4MT would aid the diagnosis of predementia AD, which manifests clinically as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The 4MT was applied to patients with MCI, stratified further based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarker status (10 MCI biomarker positive, 9 MCI biomarker negative), and with mild AD dementia, as well as healthy controls. Comparator tests included tests of episodic memory and attention widely accepted as sensitive measures of early AD. Behavioral data were correlated with quantitative MRI measures of the hippocampus, precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus. 4MT scores were significantly different between the two MCI groups (p = 0.001), with a test score of ≤8/15 associated with 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity for the classification of MCI with positive AD biomarkers, i.e., predementia AD. 4MT test scores correlated with hippocampal volume (r = 0.42) and cortical thickness of the precuneus (r = 0.55). In conclusion, the 4MT is effective in identifying the early stages of AD. The short duration, easy application and scoring, and favorable psychometric properties of the 4MT fulfil the need for a simple but accurate diagnostic test for predementia AD.

Type: Article
Title: The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3791/54454
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.3791/54454
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). All rights reserved. This is an open access article made available under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. For more information see: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/legalcode
Keywords: Behavior, Issue 116, Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, spatial memory, hippocampus, 4 Mountains Test, pre-dementia Alzheimer's disease
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1536272
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