Synonym
Definition
The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) was developed by Folstein et al. (1975) as an examination of mental state for hospitalized psychiatric patients, though it is now commonly used to examine cognition in older adults. Folstein et al. (1975) noted that while there were many cognitive performance assessments available at that time, the assessments that were available were lengthy. This posed a significant problem, as individuals with dementia symptoms or delirium are only able to maintain focus for short periods of time (Halstead 1943). Alternatively, the MMSE is a structured assessment of mental status/global cognitive functioning that is very brief, taking approximately 5–10 min to administer. The MMSE measures cognitive functioning in the domains of orientation, learning and memory, attention and calculation, language, and visuospatial functioning.
Overview
The MMSE was developed because the authors identified the need for a global cognitive assessment...
References
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Wiggins, M.E., Price, C. (2019). Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). In: Gu, D., Dupre, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_707-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_707-1
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