Abstract

A detailed neuropsychological assessment plays an important role in the diagnostic process of mild cognitive impairment. However, available brief cognitive screening tests for this clinical population are administered and interpreted based mainly, or exclusively, on total achievement scores. This score based approach can lead to erroneous clinical interpretations unless we also pay attention to the test taking behaviour or to the type of errors committed during the test performance. The goals of the current review are to present the grounds for the process-based approach to neuropsychological assessment, to offer a brief review of the evidence obtained so far regarding its usefulness, and to show the results of a systematic review of existing screening and neuropsychological assessment tools, some of which were already created and/or modified using this approach, and others that may benefit in their screening properties if they underwent modifications according to a process-based approach. It is expected that, in a relatively short period of time, process-based approach versions of screening tools will be available. These modified versions will not alter substantially the standard administration procedure, but will provide a way for scoring and interpretation that goes beyond total scores. This will allow clarifying with higher accuracy the underlying cognitive components involved in the successful or unsuccessful performance in cognitive tasks, and thus will facilitate an early diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.