Aging and performance on the Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological battery

The Luria-Nebraska Battery has been shown to be a valid measure of neuropsychological functioning in younger adults; however, little validity research with the elderly has been reported. Seventy-eight healthy elderly adults (mean age = 72.2 years) were tested with the Luria-Nebraska Battery and 92% of the profiles were found to be within normal limits. Significant age-related effects were also found on the Luria-Nebraska Battery. Similarly, the healthy elderly were divided into two age groups, young-old (60-74) and old-old (75+). Only the expressive speech and writing scales showed significant differences, and these were in the opposite direction one might expect, in that the old-old group performed significantly better. Additionally, the performance of 100 elderly brain damaged patients (mean age = 68 years) was examined and 86% of the profiles indicated the presence of brain damage. Overall, this study suggests that the Luria-Nebraska Battery may be a useful measure of neuropsychological functioning in elderly groups.