Attention and Concentration Flashcards

Which alternative task can be administered instead of serial 7 subtractions on the MoCA when a patient is unable to perform arithmetic?

Answer: Spell the word WORLD backward

The original MoCA allows spelling WORLD backward as an alternative serial 7s task when arithmetic is not feasible.

Decreased performance on MoCA attention tasks in elderly patients can be partly attributed to normal aging effects on which cognitive process?

Answer: Processing speed and attentional resources

Normal aging reduces processing speed and available attentional capacity, which affects tasks requiring rapid, sustained mental effort.

A neurologist suspects frontal lobe dysfunction in a patient. Which MoCA attention task is MOST sensitive to frontal executive deficits?

Answer: Serial 7 subtraction

Serial 7 subtraction engages prefrontal cortex circuits for working memory, response inhibition, and sustained calculation — all frontal executive functions.

When scoring the backward digit span on the MoCA, the correct reversal of the sequence 7-4-2 is:

Answer: 2-4-7

The patient must repeat the digits in exact reverse order: 2-4-7.

Research comparing MoCA and MMSE shows that the MoCA attention tasks are better at detecting which condition?

Answer: Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)

The MoCA's attention subtests (especially backward span and serial 7s) are more sensitive to the subtle deficits seen in MCI than the MMSE.

A patient correctly taps on 9 of 10 target A's but taps on 1 non-target letter during the MoCA vigilance task. What is their score?

Answer: 1 point

One commission error (non-target tap) is acceptable; the patient earns the full 1 point as long as total errors are fewer than two.

On the MoCA serial 7s task, if a patient says 93, 84, 77, 70, 63, how many points do they earn?

Answer: 1 point

Only 93 is correct; the subsequent errors (should be 86, 79, 72, 65) mean only 1 correct, yielding 1 point.