Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27768046›Full record

ArticleJournal of visualized experiments : JoVE2016

The 4 Mountains Test: A Short Test of Spatial Memory with High Sensitivity for the Diagnosis of Pre-dementia Alzheimer's Disease.

Dennis Chan, Laura Marie Gallaher, Kuven Moodley, Ludovico Minati, Neil Burgess, Tom Hartley

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
42citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.3field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

42 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 66 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Dennis ChanDepartment of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge; dc598@medschl.cam.ac.uk.
Laura Marie GallaherClinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
Kuven MoodleyClinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton and Sussex Medical School.
Ludovico MinatiU.O. Direzione Scientifica, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta.
Neil BurgessInstitute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London; n.burgess@ucl.ac.uk.
Tom HartleyDepartment of Psychology, University of York; tom.hartley@york.ac.uk.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School · GBIstituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico · ITUniversity College London · GBUniversity of Cambridge · GBUniversity of York · GB

Funding

Medical Research Council G0501672Medical Research Council G117/433Wellcome Trust 202805/Z/16/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This protocol describes the administration of the 4 Mountains Test (4MT), a short test of spatial memory, in which memory for the topographical layout of four mountains within a computer-generated landscape is tested using a delayed match-to-sample paradigm. Allocentric spatial memory is assessed by altering the viewpoint, colors and textures between the initially presented and target images. Allocentric spatial memory is a key function of the hippocampus, one of the earliest brain regions to be affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and impairment of hippocampal function predates the onset of dementia. It was hypothesized that performance on the 4MT would aid the diagnosis of predementia AD, which manifests clinically as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The 4MT was applied to patients with MCI, stratified further based on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarker status (10 MCI biomarker positive, 9 MCI biomarker negative), and with mild AD dementia, as well as healthy controls. Comparator tests included tests of episodic memory and attention widely accepted as sensitive measures of early AD. Behavioral data were correlated with quantitative MRI measures of the hippocampus, precuneus and posterior cingulate gyrus. 4MT scores were significantly different between the two MCI groups (p = 0.001), with a test score of ≤8/15 associated with 100% sensitivity and 78% specificity for the classification of MCI with positive AD biomarkers, i.e., predementia AD. 4MT test scores correlated with hippocampal volume (r = 0.42) and cortical thickness of the precuneus (r = 0.55). In conclusion, the 4MT is effective in identifying the early stages of AD. The short duration, easy application and scoring, and favorable psychometric properties of the 4MT fulfil the need for a simple but accurate diagnostic test for predementia AD.

Indexed as

Spatial MemoryAgedAlzheimer DiseaseCognitive DysfunctionDementiaFemaleHippocampusHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsPsychometrics

Identifiers

PMID27768046
PMCPMC5092189
OpenAlexW2530977495

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.