scholarly journals A Toolkit for Analyzing Strategy Use in Phonemic Verbal Fluency Tasks preprint

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon Mackey ◽  
Sara Sims ◽  
Kristina Visscher ◽  
David E. Vance
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Assessment ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Strategy Use ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Automated Pipeline ◽  
Phonemic Verbal Fluency ◽  
Average Size ◽  
Fluency Task ◽  
Word Cluster

The phonemic verbal fluency task is a common cognitive assessment of language and executive functioning which asks participants to list as many words as they can that begin with a given letter. Verbal fluency tasks are widely used to identify deficits in verbal fluency, which have been associated with disorders such as schizophrenia and dementia. Verbal fluency tasks are scored by the number of correct responses, however analysis of “clusters” of related words within a response list can give insights into the cognitive strategies used by participants. Unfortunately, manual word cluster analysis is time and labor intensive and inconsistent, since raters may cluster words differently depending on how they themselves have phonetically categorized the words. We present an automated pipeline for quantification of strategy use in the phonemic verbal fluency task, “LetterVF”. LetterVF is a python module (i.e., a script containing useful functions, which can be imported and used in other scripts) that uses a pronunciation dictionary to convert verbal fluency task data items into lists of phonemes, which can be analyzed to identify clusters of words that share similarities in any of several clustering categories. Additionally, LetterVF contains useful functions for identifying intrusions (words which do not follow the rules for the task), identifying perseverations (responses repeated within the same trial), counting the number of cluster switches in a list, and calculating the average size of clusters for a list. Analysis of data from 50 participants’ verbal fluency task responses indicated that analysis using LetterVF yields accuracy and consistency on par with manual analysis. Our hope is that this tool will allow researchers to get more out of their datasets, and explore new topics related to cognitive strategy use, such as how strategies change with age and differences in strategies between experimental groups.

scholarly journals Characteristics of Clustering and Switching in Verbal Fluency according to Healthy Elderly Group

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-640
Author(s):  
Juyeong Kim ◽  
Hyunjoo Choi
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Phonemic Verbal Fluency ◽  
Fluency Task

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of clusters and switches through verbal fluency tasks by different age groups among the elderly.Methods: Ninety-four healthy elderly adults participated in this study. The verbal fluency task consisted of semantic verbal fluency and phonemic verbal fluency. The categories of ‘animal’ and ‘supermarket’ were used for semantic fluency, and the categories ‘/k/’, ‘/o/’ and ‘/s/’ were used for phonemic fluency.Results: First, there was a significant difference between the age groups. The number of correct responses in the verbal fluency task decreased as age increased. Second, the mean cluster size for verbal fluency did not show a significant difference among groups in tasks of semantic and phonemic verbal fluency. Third, the number of switches showed a significant difference between groups in semantic and phonemic verbal fluency. In the post-analysis results of semantic fluency, a significant difference was found in the category of ‘animals’ between the young-old and old-old age group, and a significant difference was found in the number of switches in the category of ‘supermarket’ between the middle-old and old-old age group. Finally, the semantic fluency task showed the highest frequency of perseverative error, and the phonemic fluency task showed the highest frequency of other errors.Conclusion: These results of this study are meaningful in investigating characteristics of cluster and switch as well as the performance of correct rate through the verbal fluency tasks according to the elderly group.

scholarly journals Dissociating Semantic and Phonemic Search Strategies in the Phonemic Verbal Fluency Task in early Dementia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hali Lindsay ◽  
Philipp Müller ◽  
Nicklas Linz ◽  
Radia Zeghari ◽  
Mario Magued Mina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Search Strategies ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Early Dementia ◽  
Phonemic Verbal Fluency ◽  
Fluency Task

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Attention in Post-Lexical Processes of Utterance Production: Dual-Task Cost in Younger and Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110341
Author(s):  
Maryll Fournet ◽  
Michaela Pernon ◽  
Sabina Catalano Chiuvé ◽  
Ursula Lopez ◽  
Marina Laganaro
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Verbal Task ◽  
Lexical Selection ◽  
Speech Task ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Dual Task Cost ◽  
Lexical Processes ◽  
Fluency Task

There is a general agreement that speaking requires attention at least for conceptual and lexical processes of utterance production. However, conflicting results have been obtained with dual-task paradigms using either repetition tasks or more generally tasks involving limited loading of lexical selection. This study aimed to investigate whether post-lexical processes recruit attentional resources. We used a new dual-task paradigm in a set of experiments where a continuous verbal production task involved either high or low demand on lexical selection processes. Experiment 1 evaluates lexical and post-lexical processes with a semantic verbal fluency task, whereas experiments 2 and 3 focus on post-lexical processes with a non-propositional speech task. In each experiment, two types of non-verbal secondary tasks were used: processing speed (simple manual reaction times) or inhibition (Go/No-go). In Experiment 1, a dual-task cost was observed on the semantic verbal fluency task and each non-verbal task. In Experiment 2, a dual-task cost appeared on the non-verbal tasks but not on the speech task. The same paradigm was used with older adults (Experiment 3), as increased effort in post-lexical processes has been associated with ageing. For older adults, a dual-task cost was also observed on the non-propositional verbal task when speech was produced with the inhibition non-verbal task. The results suggest an attentional cost on post-lexical processes and strategic effects in the resolution of the dual-task.

scholarly journals Normative data for healthy elderly on the phonemic verbal fluency task - FAS

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Helena Machado ◽  
Helenice Charchat Fichman ◽  
Etelvina Lucas Santos ◽  
Viviane Amaral Carvalho ◽  
Patrícia Paes Fialho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Performance ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Healthy Elderly ◽  
Phonemic Verbal Fluency ◽  
Student’S T

Abstract Phonemic verbal fluency tests assess the production of words beginning with specific letters. Of these letters, the most frequently used are F, A and S. It is a sensitive test for assessing frontal lobe functions. Objective: To provide normative data for the elderly Brazilian population on the FAS test and to investigate the effects of age and schooling on test performance. Methods: The individuals were divided into three age groups (60-69, 70-79 and ³80 years), and into four groups according to education (1-3, 4-7, 8-11 and ³12 years). All subjects were assessed by the Mini Mental State Examination and the FAS. Data were analyzed with Student's t test, ANOVA, simple linear regression and Spearman's correlation. Results: We evaluated 345 cognitively healthy volunteers, 66.66% being female, aged 60 to 93 years, with an educational level ranging from one to 24 years. The average (number of items) ±SD for the whole sample was 28.28±11.53. No significant effect of gender was observed (p=0.5). Performance on the MMSE and education exerted a direct influence on FAS scores (p<0.001), with education being the most significant factor. A positive correlation was found between FAS and the MMSE (r=0.404; p<0.001). Conclusion: The performance of Brazilian elderly on the phonemic verbal fluency tests-FAS is significantly influenced by education, where individuals with higher educational level present better performance than those with fewer years of schooling. Age and gender did not prove significant with the FAS.

scholarly journals Effects of dual task demanding manual dexterity and sit-to-stand in Parkinson disease individuals

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Tatiana B. Freitas ◽  
José Eduardo Pompeu ◽  
Briana R. B. Moraes ◽  
Sandra M. A. A. Pompeu ◽  
Keyte G. Silva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dual Task ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Manual Dexterity ◽  
Dual Tasks ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Sit To Stand ◽  
Yahr Scale ◽  
Task Conditions ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Fluency Task

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) causes loss of automaticity and impairment in dual task (DT) performance. AIM: To investigate the performance and pattern of prioritization of individuals with PD in motor and cognitive DT. METHOD: An observational, transversal, comparative study assessed 20 individuals with PD between stages 1.5 to 3 of the modified Hoehn and Yahr scale. Performance was assessed during the execution of manual dexterity and sit-to-stand tasks, in a single task or in association with a verbal fluency task. RESULTS: There was a loss of performance in both dual task conditions. The cost of verbal fluency was higher than the cost of manual dexterity function. CONCLUSION: Individuals with PD showed worse DT performance and prioritized the manual dexterity task. There was no prioritization between sit-to-stand and verbal fluency. These findings suggest that the nature of tasks can influence the prioritization of dual tasks.

Action (verb) fluency: Test–retest reliability, normative standards, and construct validity

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 408-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEVEN PAUL WOODS ◽  
J. COBB SCOTT ◽  
DANIELLE A. SIRES ◽  
IGOR GRANT ◽  
ROBERT K. HEATON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Construct Validity ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Normative Data ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Information Processing Speed ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Action Verb ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Fluency Task ◽  
Fluency Test

Action (verb) fluency is a newly developed verbal fluency task that requires the examinee to rapidly generate as many verbs (i.e., “things that people do”) as possible within 1 min. Existing literature indicates that action fluency may be more sensitive to frontal–basal ganglia loop pathophysiology than traditional noun fluency tasks (e.g., animal fluency), which is consistent with the hypothesized neural dissociation between noun and verb retrieval. In the current study, a series of analyses were undertaken to examine the psychometric properties of action fluency in a sample of 174 younger healthy participants. The first set of analyses describes the development of demographically adjusted normative data for action fluency. Next, a group of hypothesis-driven correlational analyses reveals significant associations between action fluency and putative tests of executive functions, verbal working memory, verbal fluency, and information processing speed, but not between action fluency and tests of learning or constructional praxis. The final set of analyses demonstrates the test–retest stability of the action fluency test and provides standards for determining statistically reliable changes in performance. In sum, this study enhances the potential clinical applicability of action fluency by providing demographically adjusted normative data and demonstrating evidence for its reliability and construct validity. (JINS, 2005,11, 408–415.)

scholarly journals Shifting Gear in the Study of the Bilingual Advantage: Language Switching Examined as a Possible Moderator

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evy Woumans ◽  
Shauni Van Herck ◽  
Esli Struys
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Specific Aspect ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Switching Behaviour ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
Fluency Task

The bilingual advantage is a heavily debated topic in research on bilingualism. The current study further investigated one specific aspect of bilingualism proposed to be a determining factor for the bilingual advantage, namely language switching behaviour. We investigated whether a bilingual advantage can be detected in the executive functions of inhibition and shifting by comparing monolingual and bilingual participants on a Simon task and a colour–shape switching task. Furthermore, we examined the relation between these executive functions and language switching proficiency, as measured by a semantic verbal fluency task. In addition, the current study set out to investigate the convergence of self-reported language switching estimates and actual language switching proficiency. Results revealed a bilingual advantage for shifting, but not for inhibition. However, this bilingual advantage for shifting was not related to language switching behaviour. Additionally, we were unable to identify a relation between objective and subjective measures of switching abilities. These findings seem to confirm the existence of a bilingual advantage, but also once again validate its elusiveness, as demonstrated by the absence of bilingual benefits on our measure of inhibition. It furthermore questions the validity of switching measures employed in previous studies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document