Editing Mini–mental state examination (section)

==Test features==
[[Image:InterlockingPentagons.svg|right|framed|Interlocking pentagons used for the last question]]
The MMSE test includes simple questions and problems in a number of areas: the time and place of the test, repeating lists of words, arithmetic such as the [[serial sevens]], language use and comprehension, and basic motor skills. For example, one question, derived from the older [[Bender-Gestalt Test]], asks to copy a drawing of two pentagons (shown on the right or above).<ref name=Folstein/>

A version of the MMSE questionnaire can be found on the British Columbia Ministry of Health website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/practitioner-pro/bc-guidelines/cogimp-smmse.pdf|title=British Columbia Ministry of Health Standard MMSE (PDF) |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210509/http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/pharmacare/adti/clinician/pdf/ADTI%20SMMSE-GDS%20Reference%20Card.pdf |archive-date = 29 October 2013}}</ref>

Although consistent application of identical questions increases the reliability of comparisons made using the scale, the test can be customized (for example, for use on patients that are [[blindness|blind]] or partially immobilized.) Also, some have questioned the use of the test on the [[deaf]].<ref name="pmid19861331">{{cite journal |last1=Dean |first1=PM |last2=Feldman |first2=DM |last3=Morere |first3=D |last4=Morton |first4=D |title=Clinical evaluation of the mini-mental status exam with culturally Deaf senior citizens |journal=Arch Clin Neuropsychol |volume=24 |issue=8 |pages=753–60 |date=December 2009 |pmid=19861331 |doi=10.1093/arclin/acp077 |doi-access= }}</ref> However, the number of points assigned per category is usually consistent:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Category
! Possible points
! Description
|-
| Orientation to time
| 5
| From broadest to most narrow. Orientation to [[time]] has been correlated with future decline.<ref name="pmid19382130">{{cite journal |vauthors=Guerrero-Berroa E, Luo X, Schmeidler J |title=The MMSE orientation for time domain is a strong predictor of subsequent cognitive decline in the elderly |journal=Int J Geriatr Psychiatry |volume=24 |issue=12 |pages=1429–37 |date=December 2009 |pmid=19382130 |pmc=2919210 |doi=10.1002/gps.2282 |display-authors=etal  }}</ref>
|-
| Orientation to place
| 5
| From broadest to most narrow. This is sometimes narrowed down to streets,<ref name="pmid17060821">{{cite journal |author=Morales LS, Flowers C, Gutierrez P, Kleinman M, Teresi JA |title=Item and scale differential functioning of the Mini-Mental Status Exam assessed using the Differential Item and Test Functioning (DFIT) Framework |journal=[[Medical Care (journal)|Medical Care]] |volume=44 |issue=11 Suppl 3 |pages=S143–51 |date=November 2006 |pmid=17060821 |pmc=1661831 |doi=10.1097/01.mlr.0000245141.70946.29 |last2=Flowers |last3=Gutierrez |last4=Kleinman |last5=Teresi }}</ref> and sometimes to floor.<ref name="urlMMSE">{{cite web |url=http://www.utmb.edu/psychology/ClinPsych/MiniMental.htm |title=MMSE |access-date=2009-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225203601/http://www.utmb.edu/psychology/ClinPsych/MiniMental.htm |archive-date=2010-02-25 }}</ref>
|-
| Registration
| 3
| Repeating named prompts
|-
| Attention and calculation
| 5
| [[Serial sevens]], or spelling "world" backwards.<ref name="pmid2073308">{{cite journal |vauthors=Ganguli M, Ratcliff G, Huff FJ |title=Serial sevens versus world backwards: a comparison of the two measures of attention from the MMSE |journal=J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=203–7 |year=1990 |pmid=2073308 |doi= 10.1177/089198879000300405|s2cid=23054498 |display-authors=etal  }}</ref> It has been suggested that serial sevens may be more appropriate in a population where English is not the first language.<ref name="pmid15086669">{{cite journal |author=Espino DV, Lichtenstein MJ, Palmer RF, Hazuda HP |title=Evaluation of the mini-mental status examination's internal consistency in a community-based sample of Mexican-American and European-American elders: results from the San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging |journal= Journal of the American Geriatrics Society|volume=52 |issue=5 |pages=822–7 |date=May 2004 |pmid=15086669 |doi=10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52226.x |last2=Lichtenstein |last3=Palmer |last4=Hazuda |s2cid=21220067 }}</ref>
|-
| Recall
| 3
| Registration recall
|-
| Language
| 2
| Naming a pencil and a watch
|-
| Repetition
| 1
| Speaking back a phrase
|-
| Complex commands
| 6
| Varies. Can involve drawing figure shown.
|}