Verbal fluency: Effect of time on item generation

Fluência verbal: efeito do tempo na geração de itens

Abstract

The distribution of item generation/time in the performance of elderly on verbal fluency (VF) remains unknown.

Objective:

To analyze the number of items, their distribution and impact of the first quartile on the final test result.

Methods:

31 individuals performed the tests (average age=74 years; schooling=8.16 years).

Results:

The number of items produced in the first quartile differed from the other quartiles for both semantic and phonologic VF where 40% of items were produced in the first quartile. No effect of age was found and schooling influenced performance on the first and second quartiles of semantic VF and on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd quartiles of phonemic VF.

Discussion:

This study contributes with the finding that asymptotic levels are attained prior to the 30 seconds observed in other studies, being reached at the 15-second mark. Furthermore, schooling was found to be associated to the number of items produced in both the first and 2^nd quartiles for semantic VF, and in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd quartiles for phonemic fluency.

Conclusion:

The schooling effect was noted both in semantic and executive aspects of VF. The brief form of the VF test may represent a promising tool for clinical evaluation.

Key words:
verbal fluency; evaluation; cognition; language.