J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1990; 2:385-390
Copyright © 1990 by American Neuropsychiatric Association
Cortical function assessment in the elderly
LD Herst, CB Voss and J Waldman
Department of Psychiatry, Maine Medical Center, Portland 04102.
The Cortical Function Assessment (CFA) is a 10-point test developed to
overcome the limitations of current bedside mental status exams which
emphasize orientation and memory. Items measure higher cortical function,
such as naming, writing, drawing, and stereognosis. The test was given to
young and old normal subjects, young and old depressive patients, and
patients with dementia. Interrater reliability was high (alpha = .95) as
was the correlation between it and the Short Portable Mental Status
Questionnaire (r = .87) and the Mini-Mental State (r = .92). The study
demonstrates the utility of the CFA as a screening tool in dementia and
depression in the elderly and suggests its use in routine geriatric
evaluations.
