The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a screening tool for which condition?

• A. Dementia
• B. Major psychiatric illness
• C. Mild cognitive impairment
• D. Language impairment

Answer: (C)

The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is designed to detect subtle cognitive changes, with a particular emphasis on identifying mild cognitive impairment. It screens across multiple domains—attention, executive function, memory, language, visuospatial skills, abstraction, calculation, and orientation—in a brief test. This broad coverage makes it especially sensitive to early, mild declines that aren’t yet full-blown dementia, which is why it’s the best choice for screening mild cognitive impairment. While it can also flag more advanced cognitive problems consistent with dementia, the primary use is to screen for MCI rather than language impairment or a major psychiatric illness.