Page 30 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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Objective Memory Tests

Before you take these tests, you must recognize the difference between lack of attention and true
memory loss. Poor attention leads to difficulty in registering the material presented in the test (or in
real life), and if a fact isn't recorded in the brain it obviously cannot be recalled. This is quite
different from true memory loss, where the material is registered and then recorded as a memory that
resides in a group of nerve cells, but later the memory cannot be retrieved. So if you feel you cannot
pay attention or concentrate because you are distracted, or have too many stresses in your life or
worries on your mind, or suffer from depression, these tests can mislead you into believing that you
have severe memory loss or dementia, when in fact the problem lies elsewhere. Therefore, you must
free yourself of all distractions and interference when you take these tests.

The tests described here require a second person to administer them. Hints and prompts are not
allowed during these tests, which is why it is sometimes better to ask someone other than a family
member or close friend to be the tester. Ideally, the tests should be administered by trained
neuropsychologists or other professionals, but they are simple enough for a nonprofessional to
administer, as long as he or she carefully follows the required rules for administering the tests.

The tester should now take over and read the following sections, then administer the tests to you,
one by one. Only after you've completed these tests are you allowed to read the remainder of this
chapter. If you do not follow these instructions strictly, the tests are completely invalid. Therefore, if
you're going to take these two tests, ask the tester to carefully read the following section and
understand what he/she needs to do before giving you the test. Stop reading here and hand this book
over to the tester, who will need a pencil.

Mini Mental State Examination

Tester: carefully read and understand the next two paragraphs, then give the test exactly as
instructed in these two paragraphs.

The tester recites three unrelated objects (nouns)—for example, bus, door, rose (another option:
apple, table, penny)—and the subject is required to repeat them back correctly.

Accuracy, not order, is what counts. The tester should circle the number of words correctly
repeated by the subject at the first attempt.

Number of words repeated correctly (first attempt only)

3
0
1
2