Mini Mental State Examination

I. ORIENTATION

Check the correct response

Ask the following questions and check the box if the patient answers correctly.

  • What is today's date? (e.g. May 21)
    		•  Date
  • What is today's year?
    		•  Year
  • What is the month?
    		•  Month
  • What day is today (e.g. Monday)?
    		•  Day
  • Can you also tell me what season it is?
    		•  Season
  • Can you also tell me the name of this hospital/clinic?
    		•  Hospital/Clinic
  • What floor are we on?
    		•  Floor
  • What town/city are we in?
    		•  town/city
  • What county are we in?
    		•  County
  • What province are we in?
    		•  Province

    II. IMMEDIATE RECALL

    Ask the patient if you may test his or her memory. Say "ball", "flag", "tree" clearly and slowly, about one second for each. Then ask the subject to repeat them. Check the box at right for each correct response. The first repetition determines the score. If he or she does not repeat all three correctly, keep saying them up to six tries until he or she can repeat them.

    		 Ball
    Flag
    Tree
    Number of trials

    III. ATTENTION AND CALCULATION

  • Counting Backward Test
    Ask the patient to begin with 100 and count backward by 7. Record each response. Check each correct response in the boxes on the right.
    		• 93
    86
    79
    72
    65

  • Spelling Backward Test
    Ask the patient to spell the word WORLD backward. Record each response. Check each correct response in the boxes on the right.
    		•  D
    L
    R
    O
    W

    IV. RECALL

    Ask the subject to recall the three words you previously asked him or her to remember. Check the box at the right for each correct response. Ball
    Flag
    Tree

    V. LANGUAGE

  • Naming
    Show the patient a wrist watch and ask him or her what it is.
    Repeat for a pencil.
    		•  Watch
    Pencil
  • Repetition
    Ask the patient to repeat No ifs, ands, or buts.
    		•  Repeats correctly
  • Three-Stage Command
    Establish the patient's dominant hand. Give the patient a sheet of blank paper and say, "Take the paper in your right/left hand, fold it in half, and put it on the floor."
    		•  Takes paper in hand
    Folds paper in half
    Puts paper on floor
  • Reading
    Hold up a card that reads "Close your eyes" so the patient can see it clearly. Ask him or her to read it and do what it says. Check the box at right only if he or she actually closes his or her eyes.
    		•  Closes eyes
  • Writing
    Give the patient a sheet of blank paper and ask him or her to write a sentence. It is to be written spontaneously. If the sentence contains a subject and a verb, and is sensible, check the box at right. Correct grammar and punctuation are not necessary.
    		•  Writes sentence
  • Copying
    Show the patient the drawing of intersecting pentagons. Ask him or her to draw the pentagons (about one inch each side) on paper provided. If 10 angles are present and 2 intersect, check the box at the right. Ignore tremour and rotation.
    		•  Copies pentagons
    N.B. Does not distinguish focal from diffuse disease. Aphasic patients do especially badly.