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Verbal fluency: Effect of time on item generation
Mayra Jacuviske Venegas1, Leticia Lessa Mansur1
1Department of Physiotherapy, Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy of Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
Dementia & Neuropsychologia
|December 8, 2017
Summary
Elderly individuals reach peak verbal fluency (VF) performance at 15 seconds, not 30. Schooling significantly impacts early VF test results, suggesting a brief VF test is a promising clinical tool.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive psychology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- The temporal dynamics of verbal fluency (VF) performance in older adults are not well understood.
- Existing research has not fully elucidated the distribution of item generation over time during VF tasks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the quantity and distribution of items generated during VF tasks in the elderly.
- To investigate the impact of the initial performance quartile on overall test outcomes.
- To explore the influence of age and education on VF performance dynamics.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 31 elderly individuals (mean age 74 years, mean schooling 8.16 years) completed verbal fluency tests.
- Performance was analyzed across quartiles of item generation over time.
- Statistical analysis examined the effects of age and schooling on performance.
Main Results:
- Approximately 40% of verbal fluency items were produced in the first quartile (first 15 seconds) for both semantic and phonemic tasks.
- No significant effect of age on overall performance was observed.
- Schooling positively influenced performance in early quartiles of semantic and phonemic VF.
Conclusions:
- Asymptotic verbal fluency levels are achieved earlier than previously thought, around the 15-second mark.
- Educational attainment is associated with early performance in both semantic and phonemic verbal fluency.
- A brief version of the verbal fluency test shows potential as an efficient clinical assessment tool.
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