Verbal fluency: Effect of time on item generation

Venegas, Mayra Jacuviske; Mansur, Leticia Lessa

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642011DN05020008

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.

Resumo

Desconhece-se a distribuição da geração de itens/tempo, no desempenho de idosos na fluência verbal (FV).

Objetivo:

Analisar número de itens produzidos, sua distribuição e o impacto do primeiro quartil no resultado final da prova.

Métodos:

31 indivíduos (média de idade=74 anos; escolaridade média=8.16) realizaram testes.

Resultados:

O número de itens produzidos no primeiro quartil diferiu dos demais nas fluências semântica e fonológica; 40% dos itens foi produzido no primeiro quartil. Não houve efeito de idade e a escolaridade influenciou o primeiro e segundo quartis da fluência semântica e os três primeiros quartis da fluência fonêmica.

Discussão:

O estudo mostra que a curva assintótica de desempenho nos quartis da FV pode ser notada antes dos 30 segundos observados em prévios estudos, já nos 15 segundos iniciais. Adicionalmente, nosso estudo mostra que o efeito de escolaridade está associado ao desempenho nos dois primeiros quartis na fluência semântica e aos três primeiros quartis na fluência fonêmica.

Conclusão:

O efeito de escolaridade foi notado em aspectos semânticos e executivos da FV. A forma abreviada da FV é interessante proposta para a avaliação clínica.

Palavras-chave:
fluência verbal; avaliação; cognição; linguagem.

Texto completo disponível apenas em PDF.

Full text available only in PDF format.

References

Lezak MD. Verbal Functions. In: Lezak MD. Neuropsychological Assessment. 2a edition, New York: Oxford University Press; 1983: 312-341.
Seniów J, Litwin M, LItwin T, Lesniak M, Czlonkowska A. New approach to the rehabilitation of post-stroke focal cognitive syndrome: effect of levodopa combined with speech and language therapy on functional recovery from aphasia. J Neurol Sci 2009;283:214-218.
Henry J, Crawford JR, Phillips LH. Verbal fluency performance in dementia of Alzheimer's type: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 2004;42:1212-1222.
Levy JA, Chelune GJ. Cognitive-behavioral profiles of neurodegenerative dementias:beyond Alzheimer's disease. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2007;20:227-238.
Arnott WL, Chernery HJ, Angwin AJ, Murdoch BE, Silburn PA, Copland DA. Decreased semantic competitive inhibition in Parkinson's disease: evidence from an investigation of word search performance. Int J Speech Lang Pathol 2010;12:437-445.
Lepow L, Van Sweringen J, Strutt AM, et al. Frontal and temporal lobe involvement on verbal fluency measures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2010;32:913-922.
Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bottino CM, Damasceno BP, Brucki SM, Anghinah R; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: cognitive and functional evaluation. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2005;63:720-727.
Nitrini R , Caramelli P , Bottino CM , Damasceno BP , Brucki SM , Anghinah R ; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: diagnostic criteria and auxiliary tests. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2005;63:713-719.
Lopes M, Brucki SMDB, Giampaoli V, Mansur LL. Semantic verbal fluency test in dementia: preliminary retrospective analysis. Dement Neuropsychol 2009;3:315-320.
Cosentino S, Scarmeas N, Albert SM, Stern Y. Verbal fluency predicts mortality in Alzheimer's disease. Cogn Behav Neurol 2006;19:123-129.
Henry JD, Phillips LH. Covariates of production and perseveration on tests of phonemic, semantic and alternating fluency in normal aging. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2006;13:529-551.
Torres A, Gomez-Gil E, Vidal A, Puig O, Boget T, Salamero M. Gender differences in cognitive functions and influence of sex hormones. Acta Esp Psiquiatr 2006;34:408-415.
Mathuranath OS, George A, Cherian PJ, Alexander A, Sarma SG, Sarma PS. Effects of Age, Education and Gender on Verbal Fluency. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2003;25:1057-1064.
Brucki SM , Rocha MS. Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004;37:1771-1777
Fernaeus SE , Ostberg P, Hellstrom A, Wahlund L. Cut the coda: early fluency intervals predict diagnoses. Cortex 2008; 44:161-169.
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.
Macedo MBMM, Ramos LR. Validade da versão em português da Clinical Dementia Rating. Rev Saúde Pública 2005; 39:912-917.
Damin AE, Aplicação do questionário de mudança cognitiva como método para rastreio de demências. Tese de Doutorado. Disciplina de Neurologia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, 2011.
Kim HH, Kim JW, Kim DY, Heo JH. Differentiating between aphasic and nonaphasic stroke patients using semantic verbal fluency measures with administration time of 30 seconds. Eur Neurol 2011;65:113-117.
Heim S, Eickhoff SB, Amurts K. Specialization in Broca's region for semantic, phonological and syntactic fluency? Neuroimage 2008;40:1362-1368.
Hirshorn EA, Thompson-Schill SL. Role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in covert word retrieval: neural correlates of switching during verbal fluency. Neuropsychologia 2006;44: 2547-2557.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Apr-Jun 2011

History

Received
02 Jan 2011
Accepted
05 Mar 2011

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

[1] Lezak MD. Verbal Functions. In: Lezak MD. Neuropsychological Assessment. 2a edition, New York: Oxford University Press; 1983: 312-341.

[2] Seniów J, Litwin M, LItwin T, Lesniak M, Czlonkowska A. New approach to the rehabilitation of post-stroke focal cognitive syndrome: effect of levodopa combined with speech and language therapy on functional recovery from aphasia. J Neurol Sci 2009;283:214-218.

[3] Henry J, Crawford JR, Phillips LH. Verbal fluency performance in dementia of Alzheimer's type: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychologia 2004;42:1212-1222.

[4] Levy JA, Chelune GJ. Cognitive-behavioral profiles of neurodegenerative dementias:beyond Alzheimer's disease. J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 2007;20:227-238.

[5] Arnott WL, Chernery HJ, Angwin AJ, Murdoch BE, Silburn PA, Copland DA. Decreased semantic competitive inhibition in Parkinson's disease: evidence from an investigation of word search performance. Int J Speech Lang Pathol 2010;12:437-445.

[6] Lepow L, Van Sweringen J, Strutt AM, et al. Frontal and temporal lobe involvement on verbal fluency measures in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2010;32:913-922.

[7] Nitrini R, Caramelli P, Bottino CM, Damasceno BP, Brucki SM, Anghinah R; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: cognitive and functional evaluation. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2005;63:720-727.

[8] Nitrini R , Caramelli P , Bottino CM , Damasceno BP , Brucki SM , Anghinah R ; Academia Brasileira de Neurologia. Diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in Brazil: diagnostic criteria and auxiliary tests. Recommendations of the Scientific Department of Cognitive Neurology and Aging of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2005;63:713-719.

[9] Lopes M, Brucki SMDB, Giampaoli V, Mansur LL. Semantic verbal fluency test in dementia: preliminary retrospective analysis. Dement Neuropsychol 2009;3:315-320.

[10] Cosentino S, Scarmeas N, Albert SM, Stern Y. Verbal fluency predicts mortality in Alzheimer's disease. Cogn Behav Neurol 2006;19:123-129.

[11] Henry JD, Phillips LH. Covariates of production and perseveration on tests of phonemic, semantic and alternating fluency in normal aging. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2006;13:529-551.

[12] Torres A, Gomez-Gil E, Vidal A, Puig O, Boget T, Salamero M. Gender differences in cognitive functions and influence of sex hormones. Acta Esp Psiquiatr 2006;34:408-415.

[13] Mathuranath OS, George A, Cherian PJ, Alexander A, Sarma SG, Sarma PS. Effects of Age, Education and Gender on Verbal Fluency. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2003;25:1057-1064.

[14] Brucki SM , Rocha MS. Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004;37:1771-1777

[15] Fernaeus SE , Ostberg P, Hellstrom A, Wahlund L. Cut the coda: early fluency intervals predict diagnoses. Cortex 2008; 44:161-169.

[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] Macedo MBMM, Ramos LR. Validade da versão em português da Clinical Dementia Rating. Rev Saúde Pública 2005; 39:912-917.

[18] Damin AE, Aplicação do questionário de mudança cognitiva como método para rastreio de demências. Tese de Doutorado. Disciplina de Neurologia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, 2011.

[19] Kim HH, Kim JW, Kim DY, Heo JH. Differentiating between aphasic and nonaphasic stroke patients using semantic verbal fluency measures with administration time of 30 seconds. Eur Neurol 2011;65:113-117.

[20] Heim S, Eickhoff SB, Amurts K. Specialization in Broca's region for semantic, phonological and syntactic fluency? Neuroimage 2008;40:1362-1368.

[21] Hirshorn EA, Thompson-Schill SL. Role of the left inferior frontal gyrus in covert word retrieval: neural correlates of switching during verbal fluency. Neuropsychologia 2006;44: 2547-2557.

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