MoCA Visuospatial Abilities 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What instruction is given to the patient before the MoCA clock-drawing task?
- Copy this pre-drawn clock
- Draw a clock face, put in all the numbers, and set the time to 10 past 11 (Correct answer)
- Draw a clock showing 3 o'clock
- Draw a digital clock displaying 11:10
Correct answer: Draw a clock face, put in all the numbers, and set the time to 10 past 11
Patients are asked to draw a clock, insert all numbers, and indicate the time as 10 past 11 (11:10).
Question 2: Why is the time '10 past 11' chosen for the MoCA clock task rather than '3 o'clock'?
- It is easier to draw
- It prevents patients from simply pointing both hands upward near 12 (Correct answer)
- It allows faster scoring
- It tests long-term memory of clock conventions
Correct answer: It prevents patients from simply pointing both hands upward near 12
10:10 or 11:10 is used because placing the hands near the 11 and 2 is more cognitively demanding than a simple symmetric time.
Question 3: In the MoCA trail-making test, a patient connects: 1–A–2–B–3–D skipping C. How is this scored?
- 1 point, minor error acceptable
- 0 points, any sequence error results in no credit (Correct answer)
- 0.5 points for partial completion
- 1 point if corrected immediately by the examiner
Correct answer: 0 points, any sequence error results in no credit
Any error in the alternating sequence that is not immediately self-corrected results in a score of 0.
Question 4: Which brain region damage is most closely associated with poor performance on visuospatial construction tasks like those in the MoCA?
- Left temporal lobe
- Right parietal lobe (Correct answer)
- Left frontal lobe
- Cerebellum
Correct answer: Right parietal lobe
The right parietal lobe is critical for visuospatial construction; damage here commonly impairs clock drawing and cube copying.
Question 5: A patient draws a perfect clock contour and correct hand positions but writes '13' between 12 and 1. What is the clock score?
- 3
- 2 (Correct answer)
- 1
- 0
Correct answer: 2
The numbers point is lost because adding '13' shows a sequencing error, but contour and hands points are retained.
Question 6: The MoCA cube is a two-dimensional line drawing of a three-dimensional shape. What term describes drawing a 3-D object on a flat surface?
- Spatial rotation
- Visuoconstructive ability (Correct answer)
- Object recognition
- Visual acuity
Correct answer: Visuoconstructive ability
Visuoconstructive ability refers to the capacity to reproduce a spatial structure, including representing 3-D objects on 2-D surfaces.
Question 7: If a patient with left-sided hemispatial neglect draws a clock, which common pattern would be expected?
- All numbers crowded on the right side of the clock face (Correct answer)
- All numbers crowded on the left side
- Numbers absent entirely
- Hands missing from the drawing
Correct answer: All numbers crowded on the right side of the clock face
Patients with left neglect fail to attend to the left hemispace, so numbers are crowded or only present on the right half of the clock.
MoCA Visuospatial Abilities 3
What instruction is given to the patient before the MoCA clock-drawing task?