Phonemic Fluency, Semantic Fluency, and Difference Scores: Normative Data for Adult Hebrew Speakers

Kavé, Gitit

doi:10.1080/13803390490918499

Cited by 155 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In contrast, the greater contribution of age in predicting performance in semantic tasks than in phonemic tasks is in agreement with other studies, which suggested that semantic tasks are more sensitive to the effects of ageing (Szatkowska et al, 2000). In addition, there is evidence that different resources of executive functions are necessary to perform semantic VFTs, which activates frontal lobe regions (Kavé, 2005). Other studies confi rmed the effect of age and education on semantic processing (Machado, Correia, & Mansur, 2007), which may justify the interaction between semantic judgment and the other variables.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effect of aging, education, reading and writing, semantic processing and depression symptoms on verbal fluency

Moraes¹,

Guimarães²,

Joanette³

et al. 2013

Psicol. Reflex. Crit.

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Verbal fl uency tasks are widely used in (clinical) neuropsychology to evaluate components of executive functioning and lexical-semantic processing (linguistic and semantic memory). Performance in those tasks may be affected by several variables, such as age, education and diseases. This study investigated whether aging, education, reading and writing frequency, performance in semantic judgment tasks and depression symptoms predict the performance in unconstrained, phonemic and semantic fl uency tasks. This study sample comprised 260 healthy adults aged 19 to 75 years old. The Pearson correlation coeffi cient and multiple regression models were used for data analysis. The variables under analysis were associated in different ways and had different levels of contribution according to the type of verbal fl uency task. Education had the greatest effect on verbal fl uency tasks. There was a greater effect of age on semantic fl uency than on phonemic tasks. The semantic judgment tasks predicted the verbal fl uency performance alone or in combination with other variables. These fi ndings corroborate the importance of education in cognition supporting the hypothesis of a cognitive reserve and confi rming the contribution of lexical-semantic processing to verbal fl uency. Keywords: Verbal fl uency, age, education, reading and writing habits, depression, semantic judgment. ResumoAs tarefas de fl uência verbal são amplamente empregadas na clínica neuropsicológica para avaliar os componentes de funções executivas e processamento léxico-semântico (linguagem e memória semântica). O desempenho nessas tarefas pode ser infl uenciado por diferentes variáveis, como idade, escolaridade e diferentes patologias. Este estudo investigou se a idade, escolaridade, frequência dos hábitos de leitura e escrita, o desempenho em tarefas de julgamento semântico e sintomas de depressão predizem os desempenhos em tarefas de fl uência verbal de critério livre, fonêmico-ortográfi co e semântico. Participaram desse estudo 260 adultos saudáveis entre 19 e 75 anos. Foi utilizada a correlação de Pearson e da análise de regressão múltipla. As variáveis analisadas foram associadas em diferentes modelos combinatórios e apresentaram distintos níveis de explicação de acordo com o tipo de fl uência verbal. A escolaridade foi a variáveis que melhor contribuiu para a explicação do desempenho nas tarefas de fl uência verbal, seguida pela idade, principalmente na tarefa fonêmico--ortográfi ca. O desempenho nas tarefas de julgamento semântico predisse a performance da fl uência verbal isoladamente ou em combinação com as demais variáveis. Esses resultados corroboram a importância da escolaridade na cognição, sustentando a hipótese da reserva cognitiva e confi rmam a implicação do processamento léxico-semântico na fl uência verbal. Palavras-chave: Fluência verbal, idade, escolaridade, leitura e escrita, depressão, julgamento semântico.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effect of aging, education, reading and writing, semantic processing and depression symptoms on verbal fluency

Moraes¹,

Guimarães²,

Joanette³

et al. 2013

Psicol. Reflex. Crit.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…As the NeuroTrax battery of tests has not been used extensively in population studies of people with diabetes, the following two well-used short cognitive tests were also included: 1) the digit symbol substitution test, which is a subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (14) pertaining to a wide array of cognitive domains such as visual motor speed and coordination, capacity for learning, attention, concentration, and short-term memory (it has been extensively used to measure cognitive function in cognitively intact individuals, and its score is well correlated with measures of physical function and future cognitive decline [15,16]); and 2) the verbal fluency test that measures verbal production, semantic memory, and language (17). This test was used in several longitudinal studies, and in each it exhibited an ability to differentiate between people with and without diabetes based on the rate of cognitive decline experienced over time (18,19).…”

Section: Paper-and-pencil Cognitive Testsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive Dysfunction: Part and Parcel of the Diabetic Foot

et al. 2016

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OBJECTIVEThe presence of a foot ulcer increases the self-treatment burden imposed on the individual with diabetes. Additionally, this condition increases the cognitive demands needed for adherence to medical recommendations. A potential gap could exist between medical recommendations and the individual's ability to implement them. Hence, the goal of this study was to examine whether the cognitive profile of people with diabetic foot ulcers differs from that of people with diabetes without this complication. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSThis was a case-control study. Ninety-nine individuals with diabetic foot ulcers (case patients) and 95 individuals with type 2 diabetes (control subjects) (age range 45-75 years), who were matched for diabetes duration and sex, underwent extensive neuropsychological evaluation using a NeuroTrax computerized battery, digit symbol, and verbal fluency tests. A global cognitive score after standardization for age and education was computed as well as scores in the following six cognitive domains: memory, executive function, reaction time, attention, psychomotor abilities, and estimated premorbid cognition. RESULTSIndividuals with diabetic foot ulcers had significantly (P < 0.001) lower cognitive scores than individuals with diabetes without this complication, in all tested cognitive domains, excluding estimated premorbid cognition. Individuals with diabetic foot ulcers demonstrated a significant difference between precognitive and current cognitive abilities, as opposed to the nonsignificant difference among control subjects. The differences persisted in multivariable analysis after adjusting for depression and smoking. CONCLUSIONSIndividuals with diabetic foot ulcers were found to possess fewer cognitive resources than individuals with diabetes without this complication. Thus, they appear to face more self-treatment challenges, while possessing significantly fewer cognitive resources.The presence of a foot ulcer increases the self-care burden imposed on the individual with diabetes. Recently, the American Diabetes Association and the International Working Group on the Diabetic Foot published a global consensus, evidence-based guidance, on the management and prevention of the diabetic foot (DF) (1,2). These documents emphasize patients' education on appropriate self-care practices and participation in an integrated foot care program as essential elements of the prevention of ulcers and their recurrence. The implications of this guidance is that the individual with a DF is expected to learn and understand new information

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“…The number of words generated in 1 min for three different Hebrew letters (bet/b; gimel/g; shin/sh) was timed using a stopwatch. These letters were chosen because they are commonly used in neuropsychological evaluation in Israel [42] . VF scores were achieved by calculating the sum of all words in the lists [42,43] .…”

Section: Assessment Of Cognitive Function and Affectmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition to the MMSE, a screening tool for dementia and general measure of cognitive function, subjects completed several tests of cognitive ability and executive function, including verbal fluency (VF) [42] and forward and backward digit span [43] . In the VF test, subjects were asked to recite out loud words that start with a predefined letter.…”

Section: Assessment Of Cognitive Function and Affectmentioning

confidence: 99%

Properties of the ‘Timed Up and Go’ Test: More than Meets the Eye

2010

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Background: The ‘timed up and go’ test (TUG) is a simple, quick and widely used clinical performance-based measure of lower extremity function, mobility and fall risk. We speculated that its properties may be different from other performance-based tests and assessed whether cognitive function may contribute to the differences among these tests in a cohort of healthy older adults. Objective: To evaluate psychometric properties of the TUG in healthy older adults in comparison to the Berg balance test (BBT) and the Dynamic Gait Index (DGI). Methods: The TUG, DGI and BBT were assessed in 265 healthy older adults (76.4 ± 4.3 years; 58.3% women) who participated in a 3-year prospective study. The Mini-Mental State Examination, digit span and verbal fluency measured cognitive function. The one-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test evaluated deviations from a normal distribution and Pearson’s correlation coefficients quantified associations. Results: The mean scores of the BBT, DGI and TUG were: 54.0 ± 2.4, 22.8 ± 1.5, 9.5 ± 1.7 s, respectively. The BBT and the DGI were not normally distributed (p < 0.001), but the TUG was (p = 0.713). The TUG times were mildly associated (p < 0.01) with digit span and verbal fluency and were related to future falls, while the BBT and the DGI were not. Conclusions: The TUG appears to be an appropriate tool for clinical assessment of functional mobility even in healthy older adults. It does not suffer from ceiling effect limitations, is normally distributed and is apparently related to executive function. The BBT and the DGI do not share these beneficial properties. Perhaps the transferring and turning components of the TUG help to convert this relatively simple motor task into a more complex measure that also depends on cognitive resources.

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Phonemic Fluency, Semantic Fluency, and Difference Scores: Normative Data for Adult Hebrew Speakers

Cited by 155 publications

References 41 publications

Effect of aging, education, reading and writing, semantic processing and depression symptoms on verbal fluency

Effect of aging, education, reading and writing, semantic processing and depression symptoms on verbal fluency

Cognitive Dysfunction: Part and Parcel of the Diabetic Foot

Properties of the ‘Timed Up and Go’ Test: More than Meets the Eye

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