Verbal Fluency Performance in Patients with Non-demented Parkinson's Disease
Hooshang Dadgar1, Ahmad Reza Khatoonabadi, Jalal Bakhtiyari
1School of Rehabilitation.Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS).
Objective:
While Parkinson's disease (PD) has traditionally been defined by motor symptoms, many researches have indicated that mild cognitive impairment is common in non-demented PD patients. The purpose of this study was to compare verbal fluency performance in non-demented Parkinson's disease patients with healthy controls.
Method:
In this cross-sectional study thirty non-demented Parkinson's disease patients and 30 healthy controls, matched by age, gender and education, were compared on verbal fluency performance. Verbal fluency was studied with a Phonemic Fluency task using the letters F, A, and S, a semantic fluency task using the categories animals and fruits. The independent t-test was used for data analysis.
Results:
Overall, participants generated more words in the semantic fluency task than in the phonemic fluency task. Results revealed significant differences between patients and controls in semantic fluency task (p<.05). In addition, PD patients showed a significant reduction of correctly generated words in letter fluency task. The total number of words produced was also significantly lower in the PD group (p<.05).
Conclusion:
Verbal fluency disruption is implied in non-demented PD patients in association with incipient cognitive impairment.
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