Working Memory Impairment in Transient Ischaemic Attack: N-back as a Sensitive Measure for Detection

Abstract Background: Transient ischaemic attack (TIA) can lead to lasting changes in brain structure and function resulting cognitive impairment. Cognitive screening tools may lack sensitivity for detecting impairments, particularly executive function, which tends be the earliest affected domain vascular Aim: In this preliminary study, we examine a working memory (WMem) task as sensitive measure of impairment TIA. Method: Patients referred TIA clinic transient neurological symptoms completed general tool (Montreal Assessment; MoCA), WMem (2-N-back) cross-sectional design. Results: patients (n = 12) showed significantly reduced performance on N-back compared diagnosed with mimic clinical conditions overlapping 16). No group differences were observed MoCA. Conclusions: Assessing provide after TIA, implications services triage further neuropsychological support, or interventions prevent dementia.