Recall of Words Flashcards
7 cards from real MMSE practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Recall of Words flashcards as text
In a research setting, which measure would most sensitively distinguish very mild cognitive impairment from normal aging using delayed recall?
Answer: Ratio of words recalled to words registered
The proportion of registered words that are later recalled (savings score) is a sensitive index of true memory consolidation.
Which brain structure, when damaged, most directly impairs MMSE word recall performance?
Answer: Hippocampus
The hippocampus is essential for encoding and consolidating new episodic memories, so damage there severely disrupts word recall.
A patient scores 3/3 on registration but 0/3 on recall after five minutes. This pattern most strongly suggests:
Answer: A rapid forgetting curve indicative of hippocampal dysfunction
When a patient registers words normally but forgets them rapidly, the pattern points to a hippocampal consolidation failure rather than a registration deficit.
An examiner accidentally uses the same three words for a patient's MMSE follow-up six months later. What is the main concern?
Answer: Practice effects may artificially inflate the recall score
Repeating identical stimuli can produce practice effects where familiarity rather than genuine memory improvement drives higher scores.
When comparing MMSE word recall to longer delayed recall tests (e.g., 20-30 minutes), what advantage do longer delays offer?
Answer: Longer delays reveal consolidation deficits that short delays may miss
Memory consolidation failures become more apparent over longer retention intervals, increasing sensitivity for detecting early hippocampal dysfunction.
Which of the following would be the most appropriate accommodation for a non-English-speaking patient taking the MMSE word recall task?
Answer: Use a validated translated version with culturally appropriate word stimuli
Validated translations with culturally appropriate stimuli ensure the test measures memory, not language proficiency.
What term describes the phenomenon where patients remember the first or last word on a list more easily than the middle word?
Answer: Serial position effect
The serial position effect describes superior recall for items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list compared to middle items.