The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has updated its Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including with new information specifically addressed to individuals in the European Economic Area. As described in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences.

Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.

×
No Access

The application of the Screening Cerebral Assessment of Neppe (BROCAS SCAN) to a neuropsychiatric population

Published Online:https://doi.org/10.1176/jnp.4.1.85

Assessments of higher cortical functioning are often neglected in patients with possible coarse neurobehavioral psychiatric disease, such as dementia, stroke, or focal cerebral lesions. When performed, the short Folstein Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) is typically used. The authors' research on 45 neuropsychiatric patients compared the MMSE with a new 20-30-minute bedside examination, the Screening Cerebral Assessment of Neppe (BROCAS SCAN). This screens 10 areas: recall, recognition, orientation, organization of thought, concentration, calculation, agnosia, apraxia, speech, and sensory-motor-reflex phenomena. The BROCAS SCAN (total) correlated extremely well with neuropsychiatric prediction, MRI changes, and neuropsychological testing, and distinguished diagnoses, demonstrating construct and face validity. It also accounted for a larger proportion of variance than the MMSE in correlating with these parameters and was more sensitive in mildly cognitive impaired patients. The briefer first section of the BROCAS SCAN, the core SCAN, also showed statistically relevant relationships to age, diagnosis, MRI, and neuropsychiatric prediction.

Access content

To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access.