The Semantic Object Retrieval Test (SORT) in normal aging and Alzheimer disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Early Alzheimer disease (AD) often presents with semantic memory impairment, not just verbal memory deficits.
• Patients with early AD commonly report issues related to semantic memory.
• Semantic memory deficits are a key area of concern in Alzheimer disease research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Semantic Object Retrieval Test (SORT) performance in healthy elderly individuals and Alzheimer disease (AD) patients.
• To establish normative performance data for the SORT in aging populations.
• To assess the SORT's ability to detect semantic memory impairments in AD.

Main Methods:

• Administered a battery of neuropsychological tests, including the SORT, to 38 AD patients and 121 healthy controls.
• Utilized the SORT to assess semantic object retrieval and name production.
• Ensured robust test-retest reliability of the SORT in healthy participants.

Main Results:

• Alzheimer disease (AD) patients exhibited significant impairments on the SORT compared to healthy controls.
• AD patients made more false positive memory errors and name substitutions.
• Fewer correctly produced names were observed in AD patients on the SORT.

Conclusions:

• The SORT offers a direct and specific measure of semantic memory.
• The SORT successfully detected semantic memory deficits in approximately half of mild-to-moderate AD patients.
• SORT performance data from 121 healthy controls provide valuable normative ranges.