Semantic memory for actions as assessed by the Kissing and Dancing Test: Education and age effects in cognitively healthy individuals

Baradel, Roberta Roque; Silva, Henrique Salmazo da; Estequi, Jaqueline Geraldin; Parente, Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta; Sato, João Ricardo; Carthery-Goulart, Maria Teresa

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642014DN83000004

Abstracts

Action semantics is a relevant part of cognitive-linguistic assessment and the "Kissing and Dancing Test" (KDT) has been used extensively for this purpose, evidencing clinical distinctions among brain-damaged patients. To enhance its use, reference values are necessary, especially for populations with heterogeneous educational levels and socioeconomic backgrounds.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze the effects of schooling and age on the KDT in cognitively unimpaired individual

METHODS:

The KDT was applied to seventy-four healthy subjects. Sociodemographic factors were investigated through correlational and between-group analyses. Reference values according to age and schooling were provided.

RESULTS

KDT performance correlated significantly with schooling (r=0.757, p<0.01), age (r=-0.496, p<0.01) and socioeconomic status (r=0.418 p<0.01) but these variables were intercorrelated. Correlation with schooling and age remained signifi when controlling for age and socioeconomic status (r=0.530, p<0.01), and for schooling (-0.305,<0.01), respectively. When controlling for schooling, correlation between socioeconomic status and KDT was not significant (p=0.164). Between-group analyses revealed no age effects. Significant differences were found in performance according to educational level. Scores below 39/52 and below 47/52 (percentile 25) for individuals with 8 or less years of schooling and for individuals with 9 or more years of schooling, respectively, seem suggestive of an impairment in Action Semantics Processing and shall be further investigated

CONCLUSION

KDT performance was influenced both by age and schooling, indicating the need to consider these demographic features as covariates when analyzing performance on the test and to adjust cut-off scores according to these demographic characteristics in clinical practice.

cognition; language; memory; neuropsychological tests; age; schooling

Processamento semântico verbal é uma parte relevante da avaliação linguístico-cognitiva e o KDT tem sido amplamente utilizado para tal finalidade, evidenciando diferenças clínicas entre pacientes com danos cerebrais. Para aumentar sua utilização, valores de referência são necessários, especialmente para populações com origens socioeconômicas e níveis de escolaridade heterogêneos.

OBJETIVO:

Analisar efeitos da escolaridade e idade no KDT em indivíduos cognitivamente intactos

MÉTODOS:

O KDT foi aplicado em 74 indivíduos saudáveis. Fatores sociodemográficos foram investigados por correlação e análises entre grupos. Valores de referência foram fornecidos por idade e escolaridade.

RESULTADOS:

O desempenho do KDT correlaciona-se significativamente à escolaridade (r=0.757, p<0.01), à idade (r=-0.496, p<0.01) e ao nível socioeconômico (r=0.418, p<0.01 ), variáveis que se mostraram intercorrelacionadas. Correlações com a escolaridade e idade permaneceram significativas quando controladas a idade e nível socioeconômico (r=0.530, p<0.01) e a escolaridade (r=- 0.305,<0.01), respectivamente. Com controle do parâmetro da escolaridade, não houve correlação significativa entre o nível socioeconômico e o KDT (p=0.164). As análises entre grupos não revelaram os efeitos da idade. Encontraram-se diferenças significativas no desempenho de acordo com escolaridade. Escores abaixo do percentil 25 (39/52 - indivíduos com até 8 anos de escolaridade e 47/52- indivíduos com 9 ou mais anos de escolaridade) são sugestivos de dificuldades no processamento semântico de ações, que devem ser melhor investigadas.

Conclusão:

O desempenho do KDT foi influenciado por idade e escolaridade, o que reflete a necessidade de se considerar estes fatores como covariantes e, na prática clínica, usar diferentes pontos de corte, considerando essas características demográficas.

cognição; linguagem; memória; testes neuropsicológicos; idade; escolaridade

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References

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²
Hiliis A. Cognitive neuropsychological approaches to rehabilitation of language disorders: introduction. In: Chapey R. Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders. 5ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:235-246.
³
Caramazza A, Hillis A. Lexical organization of nouns and verbs in the brain. Nature 1991;349:788-790.
⁴
Damasio AR, Tranel D. Nouns and verbs are retrieved with differently distributed neural systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993;90:4957-4960.
⁵
Daniele A, Giustolisi G, Silveri MC, Colosimo C, Gainotti G. Evidence for a possible neuroanatomical basis for lexical processing of nouns and verbs. Neuropsychologia 1994;32:1325-1341.
⁶
Crepaldi D, Berlingeri M, Paulesu E, Luzzati C. A place for nouns and a place for verbs? A critical review of neurocognitive data on grammatical class effects. Brain Lang 2011;116:33-49.
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Vigliocco G, Vinson DP, Druks J, Barber H, Cappa S. Nouns and verbs in the brain: A review of behavioral, electrophysiological, neuropsychological and imaging studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2011;35:407-426.
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Spezzano LC. Study skill naming objects and verbs - analysis of error types. Master Thesis - Faculty of Medicine - USP: São Paulo; 2012.
¹⁰
Bak TH, Hodges JR. Kissing and Dancing - a test to distinguish the lexical and conceptual contributions to noun / verb and action / object dissociation. Preliminary results in patients with frontotemporal dementia. J Neuroling 2003;16:169-181.
¹¹
Mansur L, Goulart MTC, Bahia VS, Bak TH, Nitrini R. Semantic Memory: nouns and action verbs in cognitively unimpaired individuals and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Dement Neuropsychol 2013;7:48-54.
¹²
Howard D, Patterson K. The Pyramids and Palm Trees Test: A test for semantic accessory from words and pictures. Bury St Edmunds: Thames Vallery Test Company; 1992.
¹³
Verhaegen C, Poncelet M. Changes in naming and semantic abilities with aging from 50 to 90 years. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2013;19:119-126.
¹⁴
Brucki SM, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH. Sugestões para o uso do Mini-Exame do Estado Mental no Brasil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:777-781.
¹⁵
Sunderland T, Hill JL, Mellow AM, et al. Clock drawing in Alzheimer's disease: a novel measure of dementia severity. J Am Geriatric Soc 1989;37:725-729.
¹⁶
Nitrini R, Lefrèvre BH, Mathias SC, et al. Testes neuropsicológicos de aplicação simples para o diagnóstico de demência. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:457-465.
¹⁷
ABEP, Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa. Critério de classificação econômica - Brasil. 2003. Disponível em http://www.abep.org. Acesso em: 02/06/2014.
» http://www.abep.org
¹⁸
Gudayol-Ferré E, Lara JP, Herrera-Guzman I, et al. Semantic memory as assessed by the Pyramids and PalmTrees test: the impact of sociodemographic factors in a Spanish-speaking population. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2008;14:148-151.
¹⁹
Carvalho SA, Barreto SM, Guerra HL, Gama ACC. Oral language comprehension assessment among elderly: a population based study in Brazil. Prev Med 2009;49:541-545.
²⁰
Gamboz N, Coluccia E, Iavarone A, Brandimonte MA. Normative data for the Pyramids and Palm Trees test in the elderly Italian population. Neurol Sci 2009;30:453-458.
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Gorno-Tempini ML, Dronkers NF, Rankin KP, et al. Cognition and anatomy in three variants of primary progressive aphasia. Ann Neurol 2004; 55:335-346.
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Carthery-Goulart MT, Knibb JA, et al. Semantic dementia versus nonfluent progressive aphasia: neuropsychological characterization and differentiation. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2012;26:36-43.
²³
Pulvermüller F, Shtyrov Y, Ilmoniemi R. Brain signatures of meaning access in action word recognition. J Cog Neurosci 2005;17: 884-892.
²⁴
Kemmerer D, Castillo JG, Talavage T, Patterson S, Wiley C. Neuroanatomical distribution of five semantic components of verbs: evidence from fMRI. Brain Lang 2008;107:16-43.
²⁵
Silva HS, Machado J, Cravo A, Parente MAMP, Carthery-Goulart MT. Action-Verb processing: debates in neuroimagins and the contribuition of studies in patients with Parkinson's disease. Dement Neuropsychol 2014;8:3-13.
²⁶
Bak TH, Hodges JR. The effects of motor neuron disease on language: Further evidence. Brain Lang 2004;89:354-361.
²⁷
Bak T, Yancopoulou D, Nestor PJ, et al. Clinical, imaging and pathological correlates of a hereditary deficit in verb and action. Brain 2006;129: 321-332.
²⁸
Parente MAMP. Compreensão da linguagem e envelhecimento. In: Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta Parente. (Org.). Cognição e envelhecimento. Porto Alegre: ArtMed; 2006:153-169.
²⁹
de Oliveira MO, Nitrini R, Yassuda MS, Brucki SMD. Vocabulary is an Appropriate Measure of Premorbid Intelligence in a Sample with Heterogeneous Educational Level in Brazil. Behav Neurol 2014; 2014:875960. doi: 10.1155/2014/875960.
» https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/875960
³⁰
Salthouse TA. The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychol Rev 1996;103:403-428.
³¹
Kristensen CH, Parente MAMP, Kaszniak AW. Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático: Critérios diagnósticos, prevalência e avaliação. In: Caminha RM. (Org.), Transtornos do Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT): da neurobiologia à terapia cognitiva. São Paulo: Casa do Psicólogo; 2005:15-35.
³²
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.
³³
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.
³⁴
Gui Q, He C, Wen X, Song l, Han Z, BI Y. Adapting the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test and the Kissing and Dancing Test and Developing other semantic tests for the Chinese population. Appl Psycholing 2013;3: 1-19.
³⁵
Bertolucci PHF, Brucki SMD, Campacci SR, Juliano Y. O Mini-Exame do Estado Mental em uma população geral: impacto da escolaridade. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:1-7.
³⁶
Pawlowski J, Rodrigues JC, Martins SO, Brondani R, Chaves M, Fonseca RP, Bandeira DR. Avaliação Neuropsicológica Breve de Adultos pós-Acidente Vascular Cerebral em Hemisfério Esquerdo. Av Psicol Latinoam 2013;31:33-45.
³⁷
Fonseca RP, Zimmermann N, Pawlowski J, et al. Métodos em avaliação neuropsiológica: pressupostos gerais, neurocognitivos, neuropsicolinguísticos e psicométricos. In: Fukushi SS (org). Métodos em psicobiologia, neurociências e comportamento. São Paulo: Anpepp; 2012.
³⁸
Santaella l, Nöth W. Imagem, cognição, semiótica, mídia, São Paulo: Iluminuras; 1997.
³⁹
Novaes-Pinto R. A contribuição do estudo discursivo para uma análise crítica das categorias clínicas. Tese. Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem; Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP); 1999.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Sept 2014

History

Received
11 Feb 2014
Accepted
20 Apr 2014

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] ¹
Tulving E. Episodic walks semantic memory. In: Tulving, E, Donaldson , W. (Eds), Organization of Memory. New York: Academic Press; 1972:381-403.

[2] ²
Hiliis A. Cognitive neuropsychological approaches to rehabilitation of language disorders: introduction. In: Chapey R. Language intervention strategies in aphasia and related neurogenic communication disorders. 5ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008:235-246.

[3] ³
Caramazza A, Hillis A. Lexical organization of nouns and verbs in the brain. Nature 1991;349:788-790.

[4] ⁴
Damasio AR, Tranel D. Nouns and verbs are retrieved with differently distributed neural systems. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1993;90:4957-4960.

[5] ⁵
Daniele A, Giustolisi G, Silveri MC, Colosimo C, Gainotti G. Evidence for a possible neuroanatomical basis for lexical processing of nouns and verbs. Neuropsychologia 1994;32:1325-1341.

[6] ⁶
Crepaldi D, Berlingeri M, Paulesu E, Luzzati C. A place for nouns and a place for verbs? A critical review of neurocognitive data on grammatical class effects. Brain Lang 2011;116:33-49.

[7] ⁷
Vigliocco G, Vinson DP, Druks J, Barber H, Cappa S. Nouns and verbs in the brain: A review of behavioral, electrophysiological, neuropsychological and imaging studies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 2011;35:407-426.

[8] ⁸
Mätzig S, Druks J, Masterson J, Vigliocco G. Noun and verb differences in picture naming: past studies and new evidence. Cortex 2009;45: 738-758.

[9] ⁹
Spezzano LC. Study skill naming objects and verbs - analysis of error types. Master Thesis - Faculty of Medicine - USP: São Paulo; 2012.

[10] ¹⁰
Bak TH, Hodges JR. Kissing and Dancing - a test to distinguish the lexical and conceptual contributions to noun / verb and action / object dissociation. Preliminary results in patients with frontotemporal dementia. J Neuroling 2003;16:169-181.

[11] ¹¹
Mansur L, Goulart MTC, Bahia VS, Bak TH, Nitrini R. Semantic Memory: nouns and action verbs in cognitively unimpaired individuals and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Dement Neuropsychol 2013;7:48-54.

[12] ¹²
Howard D, Patterson K. The Pyramids and Palm Trees Test: A test for semantic accessory from words and pictures. Bury St Edmunds: Thames Vallery Test Company; 1992.

[13] ¹³
Verhaegen C, Poncelet M. Changes in naming and semantic abilities with aging from 50 to 90 years. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2013;19:119-126.

[14] ¹⁴
Brucki SM, Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bertolucci PH, Okamoto IH. Sugestões para o uso do Mini-Exame do Estado Mental no Brasil. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2003;61:777-781.

[15] ¹⁵
Sunderland T, Hill JL, Mellow AM, et al. Clock drawing in Alzheimer's disease: a novel measure of dementia severity. J Am Geriatric Soc 1989;37:725-729.

[16] ¹⁶
Nitrini R, Lefrèvre BH, Mathias SC, et al. Testes neuropsicológicos de aplicação simples para o diagnóstico de demência. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:457-465.

[17] ¹⁷
ABEP, Associação Brasileira de Empresas de Pesquisa. Critério de classificação econômica - Brasil. 2003. Disponível em http://www.abep.org. Acesso em: 02/06/2014.
» http://www.abep.org

[18] ¹⁸
Gudayol-Ferré E, Lara JP, Herrera-Guzman I, et al. Semantic memory as assessed by the Pyramids and PalmTrees test: the impact of sociodemographic factors in a Spanish-speaking population. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2008;14:148-151.

[19] ¹⁹
Carvalho SA, Barreto SM, Guerra HL, Gama ACC. Oral language comprehension assessment among elderly: a population based study in Brazil. Prev Med 2009;49:541-545.

[20] ²⁰
Gamboz N, Coluccia E, Iavarone A, Brandimonte MA. Normative data for the Pyramids and Palm Trees test in the elderly Italian population. Neurol Sci 2009;30:453-458.

[21] ²¹
Gorno-Tempini ML, Dronkers NF, Rankin KP, et al. Cognition and anatomy in three variants of primary progressive aphasia. Ann Neurol 2004; 55:335-346.

[22] ²²
Carthery-Goulart MT, Knibb JA, et al. Semantic dementia versus nonfluent progressive aphasia: neuropsychological characterization and differentiation. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 2012;26:36-43.

[23] ²³
Pulvermüller F, Shtyrov Y, Ilmoniemi R. Brain signatures of meaning access in action word recognition. J Cog Neurosci 2005;17: 884-892.

[24] ²⁴
Kemmerer D, Castillo JG, Talavage T, Patterson S, Wiley C. Neuroanatomical distribution of five semantic components of verbs: evidence from fMRI. Brain Lang 2008;107:16-43.

[25] ²⁵
Silva HS, Machado J, Cravo A, Parente MAMP, Carthery-Goulart MT. Action-Verb processing: debates in neuroimagins and the contribuition of studies in patients with Parkinson's disease. Dement Neuropsychol 2014;8:3-13.

[26] ²⁶
Bak TH, Hodges JR. The effects of motor neuron disease on language: Further evidence. Brain Lang 2004;89:354-361.

[27] ²⁷
Bak T, Yancopoulou D, Nestor PJ, et al. Clinical, imaging and pathological correlates of a hereditary deficit in verb and action. Brain 2006;129: 321-332.

[28] ²⁸
Parente MAMP. Compreensão da linguagem e envelhecimento. In: Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta Parente. (Org.). Cognição e envelhecimento. Porto Alegre: ArtMed; 2006:153-169.

[29] ²⁹
de Oliveira MO, Nitrini R, Yassuda MS, Brucki SMD. Vocabulary is an Appropriate Measure of Premorbid Intelligence in a Sample with Heterogeneous Educational Level in Brazil. Behav Neurol 2014; 2014:875960. doi: 10.1155/2014/875960.
» https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/875960

[30] ³⁰
Salthouse TA. The processing-speed theory of adult age differences in cognition. Psychol Rev 1996;103:403-428.

[31] ³¹
Kristensen CH, Parente MAMP, Kaszniak AW. Transtorno de Estresse Pós-Traumático: Critérios diagnósticos, prevalência e avaliação. In: Caminha RM. (Org.), Transtornos do Estresse Pós-Traumático (TEPT): da neurobiologia à terapia cognitiva. São Paulo: Casa do Psicólogo; 2005:15-35.

[32] ³²
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.

[33] ³³
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.

[34] ³⁴
Gui Q, He C, Wen X, Song l, Han Z, BI Y. Adapting the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test and the Kissing and Dancing Test and Developing other semantic tests for the Chinese population. Appl Psycholing 2013;3: 1-19.

[35] ³⁵
Bertolucci PHF, Brucki SMD, Campacci SR, Juliano Y. O Mini-Exame do Estado Mental em uma população geral: impacto da escolaridade. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 1994;52:1-7.

[36] ³⁶
Pawlowski J, Rodrigues JC, Martins SO, Brondani R, Chaves M, Fonseca RP, Bandeira DR. Avaliação Neuropsicológica Breve de Adultos pós-Acidente Vascular Cerebral em Hemisfério Esquerdo. Av Psicol Latinoam 2013;31:33-45.

[37] ³⁷
Fonseca RP, Zimmermann N, Pawlowski J, et al. Métodos em avaliação neuropsiológica: pressupostos gerais, neurocognitivos, neuropsicolinguísticos e psicométricos. In: Fukushi SS (org). Métodos em psicobiologia, neurociências e comportamento. São Paulo: Anpepp; 2012.

[38] ³⁸
Santaella l, Nöth W. Imagem, cognição, semiótica, mídia, São Paulo: Iluminuras; 1997.

[39] ³⁹
Novaes-Pinto R. A contribuição do estudo discursivo para uma análise crítica das categorias clínicas. Tese. Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem; Universidade de Campinas (UNICAMP); 1999.

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