Affiliations: [a]
Clinical Research Program, Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona, Spain
| [b]
Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| [c]
Department of General Linguistics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| [d]
Department of Behavioral Neurology, Service of Neurology, Hospital del Mar, Parc Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| [e] SAIL Statistics, Barcelona, Spain
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Nina Gramunt, Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Dr. Aiguader, 88 – 08003 Barcelona, Spain.Tel.: +34 933160990; Fax: +34 933160996; E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: Background: The Memory Binding Test (MBT) is emerging as a promising tool for the detection of subtle memory impairment suggestive of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). For such a test to be widely accessed and used, the availability of both alternate forms and language adaptations is required. Objectives: To develop a thorough methodology for obtaining alternate forms (A and B) of the MBT in Spanish and Catalan and to assess their equivalence. Method: According to the original development of the test, frequency was taken as the lexical variable of reference for the Spanish and Catalan adaptations. A crossed design protocol by form and language was used to compare the MBT results in a sample of 290 cognitively normal middle-aged participants. Pairwise Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) were calculated among the six possible combinations. Results: The Spanish and Catalan lists of words for the MBT A and B resulting from the adaptation process as well as the original lists in English are presented. ICC indices for the comparisons between forms and languages ranged from 0.56 to 0.82. Conclusion: The MBT A and B in Spanish and Catalan showed similar outcomes and can be considered equivalent. Moreover, the thorough methodology presented here for the transcultural adaptation and equivalence study, could serve as a model for future adaptations of the MBT and other verbal tests.
