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REVIEW article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Neuropsychology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1662151

Mild cognitive impairment and neuropsychological examination

Provisionally accepted
  • University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Objective: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a condition that involves impairment of cognitive function beyond what is expected with normal ageing. The condition is prevalent in old age and may be a risk factor for the development of dementia. However, MCI can have medical and psychological causes that do not cause further cognitive decline or dementia. Thus, it is important to identify MCI at an early stage, aiming to prevent further impairment, to inform necessary life adaptation to cognitive problems or to treat the condition when the cause of cognitive impairment can be treated. Method: The present paper is not based on a comprehensive review of the field but considers the various types of MCI according to the internationally prevailing diagnostic systems and algorithms, the keyproposed key progression factors, focusing on the role of neuropsychological assessment in the diagnosis of MCI. Results: The paper discusses according to prevailing diagnostic systems and whichalgorithms, which cognitive domains that are relevant to investigate, which tests that may be relevant, what kind of norms have satisfactory quality, which cut-off scores do best balance sensitivity and specificity in a neurodiagnostic context, and what kind of conclusions and recommendations that can be drawn from neuropsychological findings. Conclusion: Comprehensive neuropsychological assessment based on more than one test in each of the five cognitive domains (memory, attention, language, visuospatial function, and executive function) recommended by NIA-AA, DSM-5 and ICD-11 , employing national and culturally adapted norms has shown superior validity regarding neuropathology and prognosis, relative to commonly employed brief cognitive assessment based on original norms (often foreign and not culturally adapted), and is recommended as best practice.

Keywords: MCI, Neuropsychology, Dementia, Memory, Cognition

Received: 08 Jul 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Hessen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Erik Hessen, dr.hessen@gmail.com

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