KUKU

KU ScholarWorks

  • myKU
  • Email
  • Enroll & Pay
  • KU Directory
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Psychology
    • Psychology Scholarly Works
    • View Item
    •   KU ScholarWorks
    • Psychology
    • Psychology Scholarly Works
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Understanding verbal fluency in healthy aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    Kemper Verbal Fluency author final.pdf (806.5Kb)
    Issue Date
    2011
    Author
    McDowd, Joan M.
    Hoffman, Lesa
    Rozek, Ellen Kathryn
    Lyons, Kelly E.
    Pahwa, Rajesh
    Burns, Jeffrey M.
    Kemper, Susan
    Publisher
    Elsevier
    Type
    Article
    Article Version
    Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    • Objective: Verbal fluency measures are frequently part of batteries designed to assess executive function, but are also used to assess semantic processing ability or word knowledge. The goal of the present study was to identify the cognitive components underlying fluency performance. • Method: Healthy young and older adults, adults with Parkinson’s disease, and adults with Alzheimer’s disease performed letter, category, and action fluency tests. Performance was assessed in terms of number of items generated, clustering, and the time course of output. A series of neuropsychological assessments were also administered to index verbal ability, working memory, executive function, and processing speed as correlates of fluency performance. • Results: Findings indicated that regardless of the particular performance measure, young adults performed the best and adults with Alzheimer’s disease performed most poorly, with healthy older adults and adults with Parkinson’s disease performing at intermediate levels. The exception was the action fluency task, where adults with Parkinson’s disease performed most poorly. The time course of fluency performance was characterized in terms of slope and intercept parameters and related to neuropsychological constructs. Speed of processing was found to be the best predictor of performance, rather than the efficiency of executive function or semantic knowledge. • Conclusions: Together, these findings demonstrate that the pattern of fluency performance looks generally the same regardless of how performance is measured. In addition, the primary role of processing speed in performance suggests that the use of fluency tasks as measures of executive function or verbal ability warrants reexamination.
    Description
    This is the author's accepted manuscript. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/8635
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021531
    Collections
    • Psychology Scholarly Works [272]
    • Distinguished Professors Scholarly Works [918]
    Citation
    McDowd, J., Hoffman, L., Rozek, E., Lyons, K., Pahwa, R., Burns, J. , & Kemper, S. (2011). Understanding verbal fluency in healthy aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Neuropsychology, 25, 210-225. DOI: 10.1037/a0021531. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0021531

    Items in KU ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.


    We want to hear from you! Please share your stories about how Open Access to this item benefits YOU.


    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    Browse

    All of KU ScholarWorksCommunities & CollectionsThis Collection

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    View Usage Statistics

    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

    The University of Kansas
      Contact KU ScholarWorks
    Lawrence, KS | Maps
     
    • Academics
    • Admission
    • Alumni
    • Athletics
    • Campuses
    • Giving
    • Jobs

    The University of Kansas prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, national origin, age, ancestry, disability, status as a veteran, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, gender identity, gender expression and genetic information in the University’s programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies: Director of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, IOA@ku.edu, 1246 W. Campus Road, Room 153A, Lawrence, KS, 66045, (785)864-6414, 711 TTY.

     Contact KU
    Lawrence, KS | Maps