Utility of a modified version of the wisconsin card sorting test in the detection of dementia of the alzheimer type.

Nelson's (1976) modified version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (mWCST) was administered to 23 patients with mild dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), 33 moderate DAT patients, 31 severe DAT patients, and 75 demographically matched normal control (NC) subjects. DAT patients attained fewer categories and committed significantly more perseverative errors than NC subjects. None of the DAT patient subgroups differed in the number of perseverative errors committed, but the severe DAT patients attained significantly fewer categories than either the mild or moderate DAT patients.