Visuospatial Abilities Flashcards

What instruction is given to the patient before the MoCA clock-drawing task?

Answer: Draw a clock face, put in all the numbers, and set the time to 10 past 11

Patients are asked to draw a clock, insert all numbers, and indicate the time as 10 past 11 (11:10).

Why is the time '10 past 11' chosen for the MoCA clock task rather than '3 o'clock'?

Answer: It prevents patients from simply pointing both hands upward near 12

10:10 or 11:10 is used because placing the hands near the 11 and 2 is more cognitively demanding than a simple symmetric time.

In the MoCA trail-making test, a patient connects: 1–A–2–B–3–D skipping C. How is this scored?

Answer: 0 points, any sequence error results in no credit

Any error in the alternating sequence that is not immediately self-corrected results in a score of 0.

Which brain region damage is most closely associated with poor performance on visuospatial construction tasks like those in the MoCA?

Answer: Right parietal lobe

The right parietal lobe is critical for visuospatial construction; damage here commonly impairs clock drawing and cube copying.

A patient draws a perfect clock contour and correct hand positions but writes '13' between 12 and 1. What is the clock score?

Answer: 2

The numbers point is lost because adding '13' shows a sequencing error, but contour and hands points are retained.

The MoCA cube is a two-dimensional line drawing of a three-dimensional shape. What term describes drawing a 3-D object on a flat surface?

Answer: Visuoconstructive ability

Visuoconstructive ability refers to the capacity to reproduce a spatial structure, including representing 3-D objects on 2-D surfaces.

If a patient with left-sided hemispatial neglect draws a clock, which common pattern would be expected?

Answer: All numbers crowded on the right side of the clock face

Patients with left neglect fail to attend to the left hemispace, so numbers are crowded or only present on the right half of the clock.