(NewsNation) — While the ages of both presidential candidates have some people calling for mental competency tests, a neurologist says they’re not the best assessments and believes both men are mentally up for the job.
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are not getting younger. Trump is almost 78 years old, Biden is 81, and a majority of Americans are worried both may be too old to be president.
However, according to Dr. Steven Sparr, a neurologist at Maimonides Medical Center and professor of neurology at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences, the tests segment cognition into categories and may not give an entire picture.
“The standard tests take cognition and break it into subcomponents, short-term memory, long-term memory, visuospatial, et cetera,” Sparr said. “What it doesn’t show is how you put it all together. It does not show wisdom. It does not show skill.”
In general, mental competency tests aim to establish whether a person is showing signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia. While Sparr has not treated either candidate, he says that in public appearances, the candidates do not look like they’re suffering from either disease.
Instead, he notes that both “have caught some cognitive slowing in terms of word retrieval, but in terms of their understanding what they’re doing, they know exactly what they’re doing.”
For those asking whether there are ways to slow or prevent a decline — out of concern for these candidates or their own lives — the doctor recommends a few things.
“Physical exercise. If you have a stimulating life and continue working, these are all sorts of things that keep cognition going,” he said.
Due to the potential slowing of word retrieval, the doctor joked that these candidates would probably not be great on “Jeopardy.”
However, as the country determines who should be president, Sparr said, “I think that the skill set that you’re looking for, it has nothing to do with the speed of processing. It has to do with the quality of processing.”
He goes on to note that as people get older, they do lose some mental quickness. However, “you do gain long-term perspective. And dare I say wisdom, and you never lose soul.”
So, on doctor’s orders, vote for the candidate who best represents your issues and perhaps speaks to your soul.
