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Introduction: RBANS is a short neuropsychological battery which has shown to be sensitive in detecting cognitive impairment in degenerative and non-degenerative diseases. It has been translated and adapted to different languages and is widely used in other countries, but no Spanish version has been published. The objective was to make a valid translation of the RBANS to Spanish, and obtain a version adapted to the Spanish population., Patients and Methods: The study included 73 subjects: 25 males with a mean age of 54 years and 9.72 years of education, and 48 females with a mean age of 53 years and 10.29 years of education. The battery was translated using the translation-back-translation method (with slight differences), followed by a descriptive pilot study in a sample of the normal population., Results: An overall reliability coefficient with a Cronbach alpha of 0.73 was obtained in the translation and adaptation of the RBANS, Form A (1998). Statistically significant positive correlations between the indices were obtained., Conclusions: The version translated and adapted to Spanish performs similarly to the original version., (© 2011 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)

The accurate diagnosis of dementias and the screening of cognitive impairment constitute a key to attend to the sociodemographical needs. This paper states the aims of screening and diagnosis, the tools used and their main psychometric features, especially, reliability and validity. The need to critically review the publications on this subject is highlighted and the Standards for Reporting of Diagnostic Accuracy (STARD) are mentioned. In addition, some proposals and recommendations from literature are cited and reviewed. Finally, the tests studied and used most by Spanish neurologists are commented on. The MMSE (Mini-Mental Status Examination), the MIS (Memory Impairment Screen) and the Eurotest stand out.

Introduction: The Boston Naming Test (BNT) is one of the most widely used tests in neuropsychological evaluation of language disorders, specifically when testing for anomia. The aim of this study is to establish preliminary normative data for the second edition of the BNT for young spanish adults (age range between 20 and 49 years)., Methods: A total of 160 subjects (60 % female and 40 % male) were administered the BNT. Mean age was 33.89 years (SD: 9.45) and average number of years of education was 13.98 (SD: 3.97). The version used in the present study is the second edition of the BNT (Kaplan et al., 2001) which includes two new components: multiple choice and error typology., Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics of the test's variables. Lineal regression to establish the possible degree of influence of the variables age and education on test performance., Results: The sample's mean score was 51.84. Education significantly influences the final score (B: 0.476; p= 0.001). Multiple choice was effective in 89 % of cases., Discussion: The present results will allow proper clinical interpretation of results in the BNT 2001 version in young Spanish adults.

Introduction: By abstract abilities is understood the ability of comprehend relations identifying the essential components and taking out from them a common feature. Its evaluation constitutes a great challenge for neuropsychology. Several studies have showed the influence of age and formal education in the performance of tests assessing these abilities., Aim: To analyse the WAIS-style abstract abilities included in the abbreviated version of the Barcelona Test determining the influence of and formal education and obtaining more normative data for a Spanish population., Method: A sample of 264 subjects was randomly selected. The subtests of the Barcelona Test were administered in a single session to every subject. We selected the scores obtained in Arithmetic Problems (raw and timed), Similarities, Digit Symbol and Block Design (raw and timed)., Results: The analysis of the variance showed statistically significant results of the selected items according to age and formal education. The formal education, as the lineal regression showed, resulted significant for all the items, being the Arithmetic Problems the only subtests not influenced significantly by the formal education., Conclusion: The results obtained in this study are in general concordant to the ones of the reviewed bibliography.