The Brief Cognitive Battery (BCB) developed by our group for cognitive assessment of low educated individuals has also shown to be highly accurate in diagnosing dementia of individuals with medium or high levels of education, making it a useful tool for populations with heterogeneous educational background. The application of BCB takes around eight minutes, a rather long period for a screening test.ObjectivesOur aim was to evaluate whether the exclusion of items of the BCB could reduce its application time without losing accuracy.MethodsPatients with Alzheimer’s disease with mild or moderate dementia (N=20), and 30 control subjects were submitted to an abbreviated version of the BCB in which the clock drawing test was not included as an interference test for the delayed recall test. Data from another 22 control individuals who were submitted to the original BCB in another study were also included for comparison. A mathematical formula was employed to compare the two versions of the BCB. Descriptive statistics and ROC (receiver operator characteristic) curves were used (alpha=0.05).ResultsUsing the abbreviated version, the delayed recall test also had high accuracy in diagnosing dementia and the mathematical formula results did not differ to those obtained using the original version, while mean time was reduced by 2 minutes and 37 seconds.ConclusionsThis abbreviated form of the BCB is a potentially valuable tool for screening dementia in population studies as well as in busy clinical practices in countries with heterogeneous educational backgrounds.

Context: Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrates impairment in the ability to socially and emotionally relate to others that can limit participation in groups, interaction with peers, and building successful life relationships. Aims: The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the effects of a novel multimodal Mandala yoga program on social and emotional skills for youth with ASD. Subjects and Methods: Five males with ASD attended 1 h yoga sessions, twice a week for 4 weeks. Multimodal Mandala yoga comprised 26 circular partner/group poses, color and tracing sheets, rhythmic chanting, yoga cards, and games. Treatment and Research Institute for ASD Social Skills Assessment (TSSA) scores were collected before and after the eight yoga sessions. The Modified Facial Mood Scale (MFMS) was used to observe mood changes before and after each yoga class. Paired sample t-tests were conducted on TSSA and MFMS scores to compare social and emotional differences post the 4-week camp. Narrative field notes were documented after each of the eight yoga sessions. Results: A significant improvement from pre- to post-test was found in overall TSSA (t(4) = −5.744, P = 0.005) and on respondent to initiation (t(4) = −3.726, P = 0.020), initiating interaction (t(4) = −8.5, P = 0.039), and affective understanding and perspective taking subscales (t(4) = −5.171 P = 0.007). Youth's MFMS scores increased from 80% to 100% at the end of eight yoga sessions demonstrating a pleasant or positive mood. Thematic analysis of the narrative notes identified three key factors associated with the yoga experience: (a) enhanced mood and emotional expression, (b) increased empathy toward others, and (c) improved teamwork skills. Conclusion: This multimodal Mandala yoga training has implication for developing positive social and emotional skills for youth with ASD.

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