Clock Drawing Flashcards
7 cards from real MOCA practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Clock Drawing flashcards as text
Research comparing Clock Drawing scoring methods found that the MoCA's 3-point system correlates well with more elaborate systems. What is the primary advantage of the MoCA approach?
Answer: It is brief and reliable enough for busy clinical settings while retaining sensitivity
The MoCA's 3-point system balances clinical efficiency with adequate sensitivity to cognitive impairment, making it practical for routine screening.
On the MoCA, which of the following would cause a patient to lose ONLY the hands point while earning full marks on contour and numbers?
Answer: Correct circle and 12 numbers correctly placed, but minute hand pointing to 2 and hour hand to 11
If the circle and numbers are correct but the hands indicate the wrong time, only the hands criterion fails.
A clinician notices that a patient's drawn clock has the number 12 at the bottom instead of the top. This error most likely reflects impairment in which ability?
Answer: Visuospatial orientation and clock schema knowledge
Rotating the clock orientation (e.g., 12 at bottom) reflects a disrupted internal spatial schema for clock layout, a visuospatial deficit.
How does mild cognitive impairment (MCI) typically manifest on the MoCA Clock Drawing subtest compared to controls?
Answer: MCI patients tend to score 2/3, most often losing the hands point
In MCI, subtle deficits most often appear in hand placement accuracy, causing a loss of the hands point while contour and numbers remain intact.
A patient with right hemisphere damage attempts clock drawing. Which pattern of errors is most anticipated?
Answer: Numbers crowded onto the left side with right side of clock empty
Right hemisphere damage causes left hemispatial neglect, leading patients to omit or compress numbers on the left (contralateral) side of the clock.
Which of the following best describes the 'conceptual deficit' error type in clock drawing?
Answer: The patient draws a digital clock display instead of an analog clock face
Drawing a digital readout instead of an analog face reflects loss of the clock concept itself, the most severe form of conceptual error in clock drawing.
After scoring a MoCA, the examiner notes the patient scored 3/3 on Clock Drawing but only 24/30 overall. What is the clinical implication of the perfect clock drawing score?
Answer: It indicates preserved visuospatial and executive function despite deficits in other domains
A perfect clock score demonstrates intact visuospatial and executive abilities, helping localize cognitive deficits to other domains (e.g., memory, language) captured by the remaining MoCA items.