Memory testing ranges from brief screens taking a few minutes to full neuropsychological assessment lasting several hours. The brief version establishes whether there is a measurable problem; the full version profiles which abilities are affected and how. Bringing glasses and hearing aids matters, because uncorrected sensory loss depresses scores for reasons unrelated to cognition.
Memory testing ranges from brief screens taking a few minutes to full neuropsychological assessment lasting several hours. The brief version establishes whether there is a measurable problem; the full version profiles which abilities are affected and how. Bringing glasses and hearing aids matters, because uncorrected sensory loss depresses scores for reasons unrelated to cognition.
Short cognitive screens are quick, usually done in the consulting room, and involve tasks like remembering words, naming, drawing and simple calculation. They are useful for establishing whether performance is below expectation and for tracking change over time. What they cannot do is distinguish reliably between dementia types or separate genuine impairment from the effects of anxiety, poor sleep or low mood. A score is a starting point rather than a diagnosis.
This takes several hours and profiles memory, language, attention, processing speed, visuospatial ability and executive function separately, comparing against expectations for your age and education. The shape of the profile is what carries the information: a pattern dominated by memory encoding differs from one dominated by executive dysfunction or language, and those point towards different diagnoses. It also establishes a baseline for measuring future change. It is available within this practice's memory service.
Being tested is tiring and many people find it uncomfortable, so it helps to know it is a measurement rather than an examination you can fail. Schedule it for your best time of day and arrive rested, since fatigue genuinely affects performance. Bring glasses and hearing aids, because uncorrected sensory loss depresses scores in ways that have nothing to do with cognition. Uncorrected hearing loss is a common and avoidable source of misleading results.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: memory; National Institute on Aging; MedlinePlus: Alzheimer disease.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.