Assessing Right Parietal Lobe Functions in Alzheimer's Disease Using the Mass Overlapping Figures Test

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess performance on the Mass Overlapping Figures Test (MOFT) between patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and controls. Thirty-nine control individuals were given this newly developed neuropsychological test, in addition other standardized tests. Thirty-nine AD patients were included as retrospective data from previous neuropsychological assessments. Controls were predicted to perform better on the MOFT than the AD group and that the AD group scores on the MOFT were predicted to significantly correlate to their mental status. The MOFT was predicted to demonstrate convergent validity with other tests of visuospatial and right parietal functioning. There was a significant difference in MOFT performance between controls and the AD group, and the MOFT scores had a positive significant correlation to the MMSE scores in the AD group. Convergent validity for the MOFT with the RBANS Line Orientation subtest and the Necker Cube Copy test was not significant.