The Usefulness of The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for Assessing Cognitive Functions in the Elderly: a Pilot Study

Results: The dementia group showed impairment on the PAL and SRM tasks. The results of the other two subtests were not different between the two groups. The mean adjusted total errors on the PAL task was higher in the de- mentia group (130.88) than in the control group (51.38), which was statistically significant (p<0.01). The percentage of correct response on the SRM task was lower in the dementia group (58.75%) than in the control group (67.25%), also statistically significant (p=0.03). We also compared the correlations of the CANTAB subtests with the RCFT parame- ters (immediate recall, delayed recall, and recognition). Again, the results showed that the PAL task correlated well with these three parameters (r=-0.59, -0.60, and -0.56, respectively). Conclusion: The CANTAB was useful for assessing cognition in the elderly. In particular, the PAL task, which correlated well with the RCFT parameters, can be used to assess visual memory. It showed to be a valuable tool in diagnosing dementia.