Use of the virtual action planning supermarket for the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND

Although executive functioning (EF) was found to be associated with cognitive deterioration, the majority of the tests for assessing EF lack ecological validity.

AIMS

To examine the feasibility and the validity of the virtual action planning supermarket (VAP-S) for the diagnosis of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

METHODS

Thirty MCI patients (mean age = 69.5 years) were compared to 30 healthy elderly persons (mean age = 69.2 years) in their performance of the VAP-S.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found between the groups in the majority of the measures of the VAP-S. The combination of the MMSE and the trajectory duration provided the best predictive classification for the groups.

CONCLUSION

MCI patients have EF deficits, and the VAP-S is a viable tool to assess EF deficits in patients with MCI and healthy elderly.