title: Spatial navigation measured by the Floor Maze Test in patients with subjective cognitive impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and mild Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Impaired spatial navigation is an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but this can be difficult to assess in clinical practice. We examined how the performance on the Floor Maze Test (FMT), which combines navigation with walking, differed between patients with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild AD. We also explored if there was a significant relationship between the FMT and the cognitive tests or sociodemographic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 128 patients from a memory clinic classified as having SCI (n = 19), MCI (n = 20), and mild AD (n = 89). Spatial navigation was assessed by having the patients walk through the FMT, a two-dimensional maze. Both timed measures and number of errors were recorded. Cognitive function was assessed by the Word List Memory test, the Clock Drawing test, the Trail Making tests (TMT) A and B, and the Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients with MCI were slower than those with SCI, while the patients with mild AD more frequently completed the FMT with errors or gave up than the patients with MCI. Performance on the FMT was significantly associated with executive function (measured by TMT-B).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The performances on the FMT worsened with increasing severity of cognitive impairment, and the FMT was primarily associated with executive function. The explained variance was relatively low, which may indicate that the standard cognitive test battery does not capture impairments of spatial navigation.
authors: Department of Health Sciences,University of Oslo,Norway.
authors: Gro Gujord
authors: GG
authors: Tangen
authors: Norwegian Centre for Ageing and Health,Vestfold Health Trust,Tønsberg,Norway.
authors: Knut
authors: K
authors: Engedal
authors: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences,Oslo,Norway.
authors: Astrid
authors: A
authors: Bergland
authors: Department of Health Management and Health Economics,University of Oslo,Oslo,Norway.
authors: Tron Anders
authors: TA
authors: Moger
authors: Clinical Memory Research Unit,Department of Clinical Sciences,Lund University,Malmö,Sweden.
authors: Oskar
authors: O
authors: Hansson
authors: Department of Health Sciences,University of Oslo,Norway.
authors: Anne Marit
authors: AM
authors: Mengshoel
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D065854:Spatial Navigation
keywords: Alzheimer; cognition; mild cognitive impairment; spatial navigation; subjective cognitive impairment