He has not taken one and has dismissed calls to do so. Trump on Friday reiterated his call for Biden to take a cognitive test, taunting him and saying they should go together.
Trump, who is nearing 80, has often boasted about his own performance on cognitive tests, including a short screening in 2018 called the Mini-Cog. This test involves asking participants to listen and repeat three words listed to them and drawing a clock.
If the results of this screening are abnormal, that would be a sign for a patient to undergo more advanced tests such as the mini mental status examination or the more recently developed Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).
Trump has previously boasted of passing the MoCA test with a perfect score. Kevin O’Connor, physician to the president, wrote in February that Biden underwent an “extremely detailed neurologic exam” during his annual physical that yielded “reassuring” results. He did not mention if any cognitive tests were involved.
Both tests assess mental impairment by asking questions of patients, evaluating different areas of cognition like language, recall and attention
If a patient scores poorly on the Mini-Cog or the MoCA test, they can be referred for more extensive neurocognitive testing.
Cognitive tests are recommended during Medicare annual wellness visits and, according to Carla Perissinotto, professor in the division of geriatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, having a baseline early on between the ages of 65 and 70 is extremely helpful in tracking signs of cognitive decline.
Changes in memory are not the only indicator of cognitive decline, Perissinotto said. Certain types of dementia can present primarily through behavioral changes. And some changes are simply natural with aging.
