Motor imagery (Timed up and Go) as a pre-screening tool for cognitive impairment and prodromal stages of dementia

Background: Recent research suggests using an imaginary version of the Timed up and Go (TUG) for assessing cognitively impaired older persons. The objective of this study was to examine whether cognitive impairment has an effect on gait performance and whether this is reflected in time differences of a real (TUGr) and an imagined (TUGi) TUG task. Methods: 52 persons (mean age: 69.3 ± 4.0 years) with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) were included in this study. Time difference between the TUGr and the TUGi was used as main outcome. The Trail Making Test part B (TMT B), the ratio between TMT A and TMT B (TMT B/A ratio) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Battery (MoCA) were the main independent variables. Results: The difference between the TUGr and TUGi performance time and the TMT B performance times increased with decreasing cognitive function (p < .01). There were no significant results regarding the TMT B/A ratio. Significant correlations between TUG time differences and the MoCA score (r = −.489, p < .01) the TMT B (r = .364, p < .01) and the TMT B/A ratio (r = .377, p < .01) were found. Discussion: The combination of TUGr and TUGi might be an easy to use method to early identify cognitive impairments and might have added value in assessing cognitive function in MCI and SCI patients