Dementia resources

The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) is a clinician-administered screening tool commonly used to assess cognitive function and support the diagnosis of dementia. Clinicians or researchers intending to use the ACE-III should be familiar with its administration and scoring procedures. A free online training programme is available and strongly recommended prior to use. The training was developed by Professor Jonathan Evans, Dr Leigh Whitnall, and Dr Stephanie Crawford at the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland. Access the ACE-III training programme here.

The latest version of the ACE-III can be downloaded below. It is available in multiple languages, including an English version adapted for adults with hearing impairment. For enquiries about the ACE-III, please contact: frontier@sydney.edu.au.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1159/000351671

The ACE-III was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference: Hsieh, S., Schubert, S., Hoon, C., Mioshi, E., & Hodges, J. R. (2013). Validation of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination III in frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 36(3-4), 242-250.

ACE-III reference data and normative characteristics

A suite of reference data has been published to support interpretation of ACE-III scores and clinically meaningful change. This includes performance deciles and descriptive performance bands stratified by sex and education, as well as indices of reliable change between repeat assessments using the ACE-III in a large cohort of individuals with dementia and healthy controls.

Access reference and reliable change findings here: https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.70257. Access additional normative characteristic of the ACE-III here: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617718000541

These tools were developed by researchers from FRONTIER at the University of Sydney.

References:

Carrick, J., Cheung, S. C., Foxe, D., & Piguet, O. (2025). Interpreting Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination‐III Scores in Dementia: Performance Distributions and Clinically Meaningful Change. European Journal of Neurology, 32(7), e70257

So, M., Foxe, D., Kumfor, F., Murray, C., Hsieh, S., Savage, G., ... & Piguet, O. (2018). Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination III: psychometric characteristics and relations to functional ability in dementia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 24(8), 854-863.

ACE-R to ACE-III converter

The ACE converter provides equivalent total scores (/100) and domain scores for Attention (/18), Language (/26), and Visuospatial ability (/16) between the ACE-R and ACE-III. Download the ACE-R to ACE-III converter.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617718000541

This tool was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at the University of Sydney.

Reference:

So, M., Foxe, D., Kumfor, F., Murray, C., Hsieh, S., Savage, G., ... & Piguet, O. (2018). Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination III: psychometric characteristics and relations to functional ability in dementia. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 24(8), 854-863.

Mini-Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (M-ACE)

The Mini-ACE assesses orientation, memory, animal fluency and clock drawing. It is scored out of 30. The Mini-ACE is the recommended screening tool for cognitive impairment in New Zealand, as endorsed by the New Zealand Ministry of Health and clinical dementia pathway working groups. FRONTIER recommend two cut offs: 25/30 and 21/30.

Access additional information on the M-ACE and recommended cut-offs here: https://doi.org/10.1159/000366040

The M-ACE was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference: Hsieh, S., McGrory, S., Leslie, F., Dawson, K., Ahmed, S., Butler, C. R., ... & Hodges, J. R. (2015). The Mini-Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination: a new assessment tool for dementia. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 39(1-2), 1-11.

Mini-ACE test translations

• Afrikaans
• Arabic
• English - Australia
• English - New Zealand
• English - UK
• English - US
• German
• Greek
• Hungarian
• Malay
• Polish
• Portuguese
• South Africa
• Spanish - Chile and Argentina
• Welsh

Translation Disclaimer

These translated versions of the M-ACE are provided for informational and educational purposes only. While reasonable efforts have been made by the FRONTIER Research Group to translate these resources, they are provided ‘as is’.  If users rely on these translated resources, they do so at their own risk.  The FRONTIER Research Group is not liable to users, and makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy and completeness of these translated resources.

Download the FES test (pdf, 621KB).

This short bedside screening instrument tests the integrity of executive function. FES measures verbal fluency, inhibitory control and working memory. It takes five to ten minutes to administer.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp-2015-311917 or see ‘FRONTIER Executive Screen: A brief executive battery to differentiate frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer’s disease’

The FES was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Leslie, F. V. C., Foxe, D., Daveson, N., Flannagan, E., Hodges, J. R., & Piguet, O. (2016). FRONTIER Executive Screen: a brief executive battery to differentiate frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 87(8), 831-835.

The Sydney Language Battery (SYDBAT) is a clinical assessment tool used to evaluate language at the single-word level. It includes 30 multisyllabic nouns, each with three or more syllables. The words are presented in decreasing order of frequency and grouped into three broad levels of difficulty. Download the test.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1159/000346389

The SYDBAT was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Savage, S., Hsieh, S., Leslie, F., Foxe, D., Piguet, O., & Hodges, J. R. (2013). Distinguishing subtypes in primary progressive aphasia: application of the Sydney language battery. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 35(3-4), 208-218.

The FRS is a structured, interview-based tool designed to assess the stage and severity of functional decline in individuals with frontotemporal dementia. Download the FRS.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1159/000346389

The FRS was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Mioshi, E., Hsieh, S., Savage, S., Hornberger, M., & Hodges, J. R. (2010). Clinical staging and disease progression in frontotemporal dementia. Neurology, 74(20), 1591-1597.

The Cambridge Semantic Memory Test Battery is a set of tasks designed to assess semantic memory. It uses the same 64 items across multiple tasks, including picture naming, word–picture matching, and synonym judgement, allowing for consistent evaluation across modalities. Download the test.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1080/13554790903405693

The Cambridge Semantic Memory Test Battery was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Adlam, A. L. R., Patterson, K., Bozeat, S., & Hodges, J. R. (2010). The Cambridge Semantic Memory Test Battery: Detection of semantic deficits in semantic dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Neurocase, 16(3), 193-207.

The CBI-R is a carer-completed questionnaire that assesses changes in behaviour, personality, and everyday functioning in individuals with neurological conditions. Download the CBI and CBI-R.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1177/0891988706286545 and https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.2007.122028. 

The CBI-R was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Wear, H. J., Wedderburn, C. J., Mioshi, E., Williams-Gray, C. H., Mason, S. L., Barker, R. A., & Hodges, J. R. (2008). The Cambridge behavioural inventory revised. Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 2, 102-107.

The Kissing and Dancing test assesses verb-based semantic knowledge using both pictures and written words. To request a copy of the test, please complete the registration form and email it to: frontier@sydney.edu.au.

Click here to download the registration form.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1016/S0911-6044(02)00011-8

The Kissing and Dancing test was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at the University of Cambridge.

Reference:

Bak, T. H., & Hodges, J. R. (2003). Kissing and dancing—a test to distinguish the lexical and conceptual contributions to noun/verb and action/object dissociation. Preliminary results in patients with frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 16(2-3), 169-181.

The Repeat and Point test is a brief language task used to assess word comprehension and repetition. It is particularly sensitive to semantic deficits and can help differentiate between language profiles in frontotemporal dementia syndromes. Download the test.

For further reading, visit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2007.08.018

The Repeat and Point test was developed by researchers from FRONTIER at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).

Reference:

Hodges, J. R., Martinos, M., Woollams, A. M., Patterson, K., & Adlam, A. L. R. (2008). Repeat and point: differentiating semantic dementia from progressive non-fluent aphasia. Cortex, 44(9), 1265-1270.

If you would like to discuss translating one of our tests into another language, please email frontier@sydney.edu.au.