Understanding Cognitive Testing

While maintaining overall health, it is equally essential to maintain mental health. Notably, your mental health involves social, psychological, and emotional well-being, which are necessary for an individual. These components help people make choices, handle stresses and relate with others. Everyone needs proper mental health irrespective of age and gender. However, some long-lasting or occasional mental disorders can affect individuals’ thinking capacity and how they interact with each other. If you experience mental illnesses, you should not worry since Psychiatric Consultants of Atlanta have a remedy that best suits you. The following is what you need to know about cognitive testing.

What does brain cognition entail?

The following are intellectual activities involved in the cognition:

  •         Learning
  •         Thinking
  •         Use of language
  •         Reasoning
  •         Remembering and making decisions

Why would you need cognitive testing?

Individuals should seek a cognitive test when they suspect to have a mental impairment and decline. They can learn about their mental decline by themselves or from other people surrounding them, such as friends or family members.

What are the results of the cognitive tests?

The cognitive screening applies basic and straightforward tests, which are essential in checking whether there are issues in the individual’s cognition capacity. However, the screening does not tell anything about the following;

  •         Why the individual has the mental decline
  •         The brain location that is having the cognitive problem
  •         The worsening and the extent of the cognitive issue
  •         The mental disorder responsible for the brain dysfunctioning

What is the meaning of the scores after the cognitive testing?

The specialist usually obtains more information from the low scores than the high ones. Notably, when the patient has a low score after the test, it implies that they have a brain impairment. The higher score shows that your brain is functioning normally, although it is not always the case since there could be mental problems.

What are the questions during the cognitive testing?

The following is what the screens usually check

  •         Information about the location of the patient
  •         Short-term learning requires the patients to remember the list of some items.
  •         The patients’ concentration; where the specialists can ask them to spell some words either backward or forward
  •         The patient’s short-term memory in remembering the events that occurred some days ago
  •         Performance of arithmetics operations; the specialists may require the individuals to conduct subtraction or additions of some numbers
  •         Performance of specific actions: the patients will be required to perform simple tasks such as brushing their teeth.

Where can you get the cognitive tests?

You can find these screens in the health care settings that the nurses and physicians facilitate. However, if the patients require in-depth screening, they can seek the tests from a professional specialized in the brain health field.

Many people have been experiencing mental disorders which limit their cognitive abilities, such as thinking and reasoning. Individuals with these conditions usually have difficulties interacting with others. If you are one of them, it is time to seek effective treatments. At Psychiatric Consultants of Atlanta, Bryon K. Evans, MD, and his mental health professionals offer various therapies, thus boosting the patients’ concentration and reasoning. Visit the facility today and live a quality life.