Assessing cognitive impairment following stroke

Abstract

The assessment of cognitive function is often neglected following stroke, with no consensus on the optimal method to assess poststroke cognition. We evaluated the ability of a brief protocol to detect cognitive impairment in community-dwelling people with chronic stroke compared to healthy controls and its ability to detect changes in cognition in stroke participants undergoing an exercise intervention. Four tests of cognition were able to detect differences between the groups in the domains of executive function, memory, and information-processing speed. Stroke survivors undergoing exercise over a 5-month period showed significantly improved memory and speed of information processing. Results suggest that exercise may have the potential to improve cognition in long-term stroke survivors and that these tests are sensitive measures of poststroke cognition.

Keywords:

• Cognition
• Rehabilitation
• Stroke
• Outcome assessment
• Psychology

Acknowledgments

All authors are employed by the University of South Australia. Michelle McDonnell is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia as a Research Training Fellow. This work was funded in part by a Research Grant from the Centre for Metabolic Fitness, Australian Technology Network. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. This manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under review elsewhere.