Effect of schooling in auditory lexical decision

Naito, Fernanda; Uessugue, Vivian Leyne; Cabral, Renata Amparado; Radanovic, Márcia; Mansur, Letícia Lessa

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642009DN20200009

Abstract

The task of lexical decision demands the functioning of the phonological loop to identify and discriminate strings of sounds and lexical knowledge to identify if this string can be taken as a real word or pseudo-word.

Objective:

To verify the effect of schooling on the performance of healthy elderly in lexical decision tasks, in the auditory modality.

Methods:

23 Participants, aged sixty years or older were divided into two groups: 1-8 years and greater than 8 years of schooling. The PALPA lexical decision subtest containing words and pseudo-words was applied.

Results:

There was no significant difference between the groups in identifying words and pseudo-words. Errors in pseudo-words predominated in both groups. Total scoring of the groups differed with worse performance in the group with less schooling. There was a tendency toward statistically significant difference. The errors in words occurred predominantly in words of low-imageability, especially in the lower educated group. In this group, there was a positive correlation between schooling and errors in pseudo-words.

Conclusion:

There was a mild effect of schooling in this task. Studies on lexical decision with larger samples could offer an important contribution for estimating pre-morbid skills and contribute to understanding pathological conditions.

Key words:
lexical decision; cognition; schooling; aged; language

Resumo

A tarefa de decisão lexical demanda o funcionamento da alça fonológica para identificação e discriminação de seqüências de sons e o conhecimento lexical, para identificar se essa seqüência é ou não uma palavra da língua.

Objetivo:

Verificar o efeito da escolaridade no desempenho de idosos sadios em tarefa de decisão lexical na modalidade auditiva.

Métodos:

Participaram deste estudo 23 idosos, com idade igual ou acima de 60 anos divididos em dois grupos segundo a escolaridade (1-8 anos e acima de 8 anos). Foi aplicado o sub-teste de decisão lexical da bateria PALPA, contendo palavras e pseudopalavras.

Resultados:

Não houve diferenças significativas entre os grupos, na identificação de palavras e pseudo-palavras. Predominaram nos dois grupos, erros em não-palavras. A pontuação total (decisão lexical) dos grupos diferiu, com pior desempenho do grupo menos escolarizado. Houve tendência à expressão estatística, nessa diferença. Os raros erros em palavras ocorreram predominantemente em itens de baixa imageabilidade, especialmente no grupo menos escolarizado. Nesse grupo, houve correlação positiva entre escolaridade e erros em pseudo-palavras.

Conclusão:

Houve discreto efeito de escolaridade, na amostra estudada. Estudos sobre decisão lexical com amostras expandidas, podem proporcionar importante contribuição para a estimativa de habilidades pré-mórbidas e contribuir para o entendimento de condições patológicas.

Palavras-chave:
decisão lexical; cognição; escolaridade; idosos; linguagem

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Full text available only in PDF format.

References

¹
Baddeley A. Introduction and overview. In: Baddeley A, editor. Working Memory, Thought and Action. Oxford University Press. Oxford; 2007:1-13.
²
Raymer A, Rothi LJG. Cognitive approaches to impairments of word comprehension and production. In: Chapey R, editor. Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication Disorders. 4th ed., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2001:524-550.
³
Segui J. La perception du langage parlé?: donnés et théories. In: Lambert J, Nespoulous JL, editors. Perception auditive et compréhension du langage?: état initial, état stable et pathologie. Marseille. Ed Solal; 1997:15-23.
⁴
Cutler A, Clifton Jr C. Comprehending spoken language: a blueprint of the listener. In: Brown CM, Hargoort P, editors. The neurorecognition of language. Oxford University Press. Oxford; 2000:123-166.
⁵
Joseph R. The Left Cerebral Hemisphere - Language, aphasia, apraxia, alexia, agraphia, psychosis, the evolution of reading and writing, and the origin of thought. In: Joseph R, editor. Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience. 2nd ed., Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; ,1996:119-158
⁶
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⁷
Raettig T, Kotz SA. Auditory processing of different types of pseudo-words: an event related fMRI study. Neuroimage 2007;39:1420-1428.
⁸
Kay J, Coltheart M, Lesser R. Psycholinguistic Assessments of Language Processing in Aphasia. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates;1992.
⁹
Valle F, Cuetos F. EPLA: Evaluación del Procesamiento Lingüístico en la Afasia. In: Valle F, Cuetos F, editors. Hove. UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.1995.
¹⁰
Castro SL, Caló S, Gomes I, Kay J, Lesser R, Coltheart M. PALPA-P, Provas de Avaliação da Linguagem e da Afasia em Português [Tasks for the assessment of language processing and aphasia in Portuguese, PALPA-P]. Lisboa: CEGOC; 2007.
¹¹
McFarlane J, Welch J, Rodgers J. Severity of Alzheimer's disease and effect on premorbid measures of intelligence. Br J Clin Psychol. 2006;45:453-463.
¹²
Rogers SL, Friedman RB. The underlying mechanisms of semantic memory loss in Alzheimer's disease and semantic dementia. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46:12-21.
¹³
Misiurski C, Blumstein SE, Rissman J, Berman D. The role of lexical competition and acoustic-phonetic structure in lexical processing: evidence from normal subjects and aphasic patients. Brain Lang 2005;93:64-78.
¹⁴
Davis C, Kim J, Forster KI. Being forward not backward: Lexical limits to masked priming. Cognition. 2008;107:673-684.
¹⁵
Almkvist O, Adveen M, Henning L, Tallberg IM. Estimation of premorbid cognitive function based on word knowledge: the Swedish Lexical Decision Test (SLDT). Scand J Psychol 2007;48:271-279.
¹⁶
Brucki SM, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH. Suggestions for utilization of the mini-mental state examination in Brazil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:777-781.
¹⁷
Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL, et al. Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 1983;17:37-49.
¹⁸
Brucki SM, Malheiros SM, Okamoto IH, Bertolucci PH. Normative data on the verbal fluency test in the animal category in our milieu. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1997;55:56-61.
¹⁹
Pfeffer RI, Kurosaki TT, Harrah CH, Chance JM, Filos S. Measurement of functional activities in older adults in the community. J Gerontol.1982;37:323-329.
²⁰
Jorm AF, Jacomb PA. Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly. In: Burns A, Lawlor BE, Craig S, editors. Assessment scales in old age psychiatry. Londres: Martin Dunitz; 1999:260-261.
²¹
Bustamante SEZ, Bottino CMC, Lopes MA, et al. Instrumentos combinados na avaliação de demência de idosos. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:601-606.
²²
Smith GE, Ivnik RJ. Normative neuropsychology. In: Petersen RC, editor. Mild Cognitive Impairment, New York: Oxford; 2003:63-88.
²³
Radanovic M, Mansur LL, Scaff M. Normative data for the Brazilian population in the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination: influence of schooling. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004; 37:1731-1738.
²⁴
Kosmidis MH, Tsapkini K, Folia V, Vlahou CH, Kiosseoglou G. Semantic and phonological processing in illiteracy. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2004;10:818-827.
²⁵
Kosmidis MH, Tsapkini K, Folia V. Lexical processing in illiteracy: effect of literacy or education? Cortex 2006;42:1021-1027.
²⁶
Cortese MJ, Khanna MM. Age of acquisition predicts naming and lexical-decision performance above and beyond 22 other predictor variables: an analysis of 2,342 words. Q J Exp Psychol 2007;60:1072-1082.
²⁷
Simpson GB, Kellas G, Ferraro FR. Age and the allocation of attention across the time course of word recognition. J Gen Psychol 1999;126:119-133.
²⁸
Stine-Morrow EA, Soederberg Miller LM, Nevin JA. The effects of context and feedback on age differences in spoken word recognition. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1999; 54: 125-134.
²⁹
Cohen G, Faulkner D. Word recognition: age differences in contextual facilitation effects. Br J Psychol 1983;74:239-251.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Apr-Jun 2008

History

Received
20 Mar 2008
Accepted
16 May 2008

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

[1] ¹
Baddeley A. Introduction and overview. In: Baddeley A, editor. Working Memory, Thought and Action. Oxford University Press. Oxford; 2007:1-13.

[2] ²
Raymer A, Rothi LJG. Cognitive approaches to impairments of word comprehension and production. In: Chapey R, editor. Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication Disorders. 4th ed., Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2001:524-550.

[3] ³
Segui J. La perception du langage parlé?: donnés et théories. In: Lambert J, Nespoulous JL, editors. Perception auditive et compréhension du langage?: état initial, état stable et pathologie. Marseille. Ed Solal; 1997:15-23.

[4] ⁴
Cutler A, Clifton Jr C. Comprehending spoken language: a blueprint of the listener. In: Brown CM, Hargoort P, editors. The neurorecognition of language. Oxford University Press. Oxford; 2000:123-166.

[5] ⁵
Joseph R. The Left Cerebral Hemisphere - Language, aphasia, apraxia, alexia, agraphia, psychosis, the evolution of reading and writing, and the origin of thought. In: Joseph R, editor. Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology and clinical neuroscience. 2nd ed., Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins; ,1996:119-158

[6] ⁶
Kolinsky R. Conséquences cognitives de I´illettrisme. In: Carbonel S, Gillet PMD, Martory MD, Valdois S, editors. Approche cognitive des troubles de lecture et de I´écriture chez I´enfant et I´adulte. Marseille. Collection Neuropsychologie. Solal; 1996:291-304.

[7] ⁷
Raettig T, Kotz SA. Auditory processing of different types of pseudo-words: an event related fMRI study. Neuroimage 2007;39:1420-1428.

[8] ⁸
Kay J, Coltheart M, Lesser R. Psycholinguistic Assessments of Language Processing in Aphasia. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates;1992.

[9] ⁹
Valle F, Cuetos F. EPLA: Evaluación del Procesamiento Lingüístico en la Afasia. In: Valle F, Cuetos F, editors. Hove. UK: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.1995.

[10] ¹⁰
Castro SL, Caló S, Gomes I, Kay J, Lesser R, Coltheart M. PALPA-P, Provas de Avaliação da Linguagem e da Afasia em Português [Tasks for the assessment of language processing and aphasia in Portuguese, PALPA-P]. Lisboa: CEGOC; 2007.

[11] ¹¹
McFarlane J, Welch J, Rodgers J. Severity of Alzheimer's disease and effect on premorbid measures of intelligence. Br J Clin Psychol. 2006;45:453-463.

[12] ¹²
Rogers SL, Friedman RB. The underlying mechanisms of semantic memory loss in Alzheimer's disease and semantic dementia. Neuropsychologia. 2008;46:12-21.

[13] ¹³
Misiurski C, Blumstein SE, Rissman J, Berman D. The role of lexical competition and acoustic-phonetic structure in lexical processing: evidence from normal subjects and aphasic patients. Brain Lang 2005;93:64-78.

[14] ¹⁴
Davis C, Kim J, Forster KI. Being forward not backward: Lexical limits to masked priming. Cognition. 2008;107:673-684.

[15] ¹⁵
Almkvist O, Adveen M, Henning L, Tallberg IM. Estimation of premorbid cognitive function based on word knowledge: the Swedish Lexical Decision Test (SLDT). Scand J Psychol 2007;48:271-279.

[16] ¹⁶
Brucki SM, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH. Suggestions for utilization of the mini-mental state examination in Brazil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:777-781.

[17] ¹⁷
Yesavage JA, Brink TL, Rose TL, et al. Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: a preliminary report. J Psychiatr Res 1983;17:37-49.

[18] ¹⁸
Brucki SM, Malheiros SM, Okamoto IH, Bertolucci PH. Normative data on the verbal fluency test in the animal category in our milieu. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1997;55:56-61.

[19] ¹⁹
Pfeffer RI, Kurosaki TT, Harrah CH, Chance JM, Filos S. Measurement of functional activities in older adults in the community. J Gerontol.1982;37:323-329.

[20] ²⁰
Jorm AF, Jacomb PA. Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly. In: Burns A, Lawlor BE, Craig S, editors. Assessment scales in old age psychiatry. Londres: Martin Dunitz; 1999:260-261.

[21] ²¹
Bustamante SEZ, Bottino CMC, Lopes MA, et al. Instrumentos combinados na avaliação de demência de idosos. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:601-606.

[22] ²²
Smith GE, Ivnik RJ. Normative neuropsychology. In: Petersen RC, editor. Mild Cognitive Impairment, New York: Oxford; 2003:63-88.

[23] ²³
Radanovic M, Mansur LL, Scaff M. Normative data for the Brazilian population in the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination: influence of schooling. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004; 37:1731-1738.

[24] ²⁴
Kosmidis MH, Tsapkini K, Folia V, Vlahou CH, Kiosseoglou G. Semantic and phonological processing in illiteracy. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2004;10:818-827.

[25] ²⁵
Kosmidis MH, Tsapkini K, Folia V. Lexical processing in illiteracy: effect of literacy or education? Cortex 2006;42:1021-1027.

[26] ²⁶
Cortese MJ, Khanna MM. Age of acquisition predicts naming and lexical-decision performance above and beyond 22 other predictor variables: an analysis of 2,342 words. Q J Exp Psychol 2007;60:1072-1082.

[27] ²⁷
Simpson GB, Kellas G, Ferraro FR. Age and the allocation of attention across the time course of word recognition. J Gen Psychol 1999;126:119-133.

[28] ²⁸
Stine-Morrow EA, Soederberg Miller LM, Nevin JA. The effects of context and feedback on age differences in spoken word recognition. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 1999; 54: 125-134.

[29] ²⁹
Cohen G, Faulkner D. Word recognition: age differences in contextual facilitation effects. Br J Psychol 1983;74:239-251.

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