The doctor who invented one of the most popular cognitive assessments told The Post on Tuesday that it may be a good idea for aging politicians to take his test — after being asked about President Biden.
Canadian neurologist Dr. Ziad Nasreddine, who developed the famed Montreal Cognitive Assessment, sidestepped politics and declined to comment on Biden, 81, directly.
But when asked about the mounting public calls for Biden and former President Donald Trump, 77, to take such a test, he replied, “It’s a good thing that we assess cognition the minute there’s any suspicion about cognitive function.
“If the test shows normal results, the likelihood of impairment is very low. Then everybody is reassured that this is maybe just normal aging — that we can all be forgetful and make mistakes. But it doesn’t mean that there’s a significant cognitive disorder happening,” he said.
Speculation and questions about Biden’s mental acuity have reached a fever pitch after a string of public lapses — and last week’s bombshell report from special counsel Robert Hur that heavily suggested Biden has “diminished faculties” and is a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”
Nasreddine cautioned that “it’s extremely difficult to tell with conversation alone if there’s significant impairment.”
He spent just under a decade developing the MoCA test as a quicker and cheaper alternative to the roughly three- to five-hour extensive neuropsychological battery examinations.
His test features 30 questions administered in 10 minutes and instructs patients to identify animals and copy an image of a cube, among other challenges.
Montreal Cognitive Assessment questions
The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a popular oral and visual screen for mental fitness. It tests short-term memory, ability to focus and executive function over approximately 10 minutes. Questions include:
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