Neurological Impacts of Chronic Methylmercury Exposure in Munduruku Indigenous Adults: Somatosensory, Motor, and Cognitive Abnormalities

There has been increasing evidence about mercury (Hg) contamination in traditional populations from the Amazon Basin due to illegal gold mining. The most concerning health impact is neurotoxicity caused by Hg in its organic form: methylmercury (MeHg). However, the severity and extent of the neurotoxic effects resulting from chronic environmental exposure to MeHg are still unclear. We conducted a clinical-epidemiological study to evaluate the neurological impacts of chronic MeHg exposure in Munduruku indigenous people, focusing on somatosensory, motor, and cognitive abnormalities. All participants were subjected to a systemized neurological exam protocol, including Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB), verbal fluency test, and Stick Design Test. After the examination, hair samples were collected to determine MeHg levels. Data collection took place between 29 October and 9 November 2019, in three villages (Sawré Muybu, Poxo Muybu, and Sawré Aboy) from Sawré Muybu Indigenous Land, Southwest of Pará state. One hundred and ten individuals >12 years old were included, 58 of which were men (52.7%), with an average age of 27.6 years (range from 12 to 72). Participants’ median MeHg level was 7.4 µg/g (average: 8.7; S.D: 4.5; range: 2.0–22.8). In Sawré Aboy village, the median MeHg level was higher (12.5 µg/g) than in the others, showing a significant statistical exposure gradient (Kruskal–Wallis test with p-value < 0.001). Cerebellar ataxia was observed in two participants with MeHg levels of 11.68 and 15.68 µg/g. Individuals with MeHg exposure level ≥10 µg/g presented around two-fold higher chances of cognitive deficits (RP: 2.2; CI 95%: 1.13–4.26) in BCSB, and in the verbal fluency test (RP: 2.0; CI 95%: 1.18–3.35). Furthermore, adolescents of 12 to 19 years presented three-fold higher chances of verbal development deficits, according to the fluency test (RP: 3.2; CI 95%: 1.06–9.42), than individuals of 20 to 24 years. The worsened motor and cognitive functions are suggestive of neurotoxicity due to chronic MeHg exposure. In conclusion, we believe monitoring and follow-up measures are necessary for chronic mercury exposed vulnerable people, and a basic care protocol should be established for contaminated people in the Brazilian Unified Health System.

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Letter Verbal Fluency in Spanish-, Basque-, and Catalan-Speaking Individuals: Does the Selection of the Letters Influence the Outcome?

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2019_jslhr-l-18-0365 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 62 (7) ◽

pp. 2400-2410

Author(s):

Laiene Olabarrieta-Landa ◽

Itziar Benito-Sánchez ◽

Montserrat Alegret ◽

Anna Gailhajanet ◽

Esther Landa Torre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Frontal Lobe ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Native Language ◽

Spanish Speakers ◽

Crucial Step ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Performance Differences ◽

Frontal Lobe Functioning ◽

Selection Of ◽

Fluency Test

Purpose The aim of this study was to compare Basque and Catalan bilinguals' performance on the letter verbal fluency test and determine whether significant differences are present depending on the letters used and the language of administration. Method The sample consisted of 87 Spanish monolinguals, 139 Basque bilinguals, and 130 Catalan bilinguals from Spain. Participants completed the letter verbal fluency test using the letters F, A, S, M, R, P, and E. Results Bilinguals scored higher on the letter verbal fluency test when they were tested in Spanish than in Basque or Catalan. No performance differences were found according to native language or dialects within Basque participants. Catalans with Spanish as their native language scored lower on the letter F compared to those who grew up speaking Catalan and Spanish. The suggested letters to use with Basque speakers are A, E, and B; the suggested letters to use with Catalan speakers are P, F, and M; and the suggested letters to use with Spanish speakers are M, R, and P. Conclusion Selecting appropriate stimuli depending on the language of testing is the first crucial step to assess verbal fluency and thus possible frontal lobe functioning impairment.

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Association of verbal fluency test with progression to dementia in non‐demented older adults

Geriatrics and Gerontology International ◽

10.1111/ggi.14230 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hiroyuki Umegaki ◽

Yusuke Suzuki

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Fluency Test

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Are schizophrenics neuropsychologically impaired affected psychotics? Neuropsychological performance and personality traits in relatives

Acta Neuropsychiatrica ◽

10.1017/s0924270800035511 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 12 (3) ◽

pp. 104-104

Author(s):

R.M. Murray ◽

CM. Gilvarry ◽

A. Russell ◽

D. Hemsley

Keyword(s):

Personality Traits ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Neuropsychological Deficits ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Schizophrenia Spectrum ◽

Schizophrenic Patients ◽

Adult Reading ◽

Trail Making ◽

National Adult Reading Test ◽

Fluency Test

Neuropsychological deficits are found in both schizophrenic patients and their relatives, and some studies have shown similar, but less severe, deficits in affective psychotic patients and their relatives. We set out to establish – whether schizophrenia spectrum personality traits are more common in the relatives of schizophrenic patients than relatives of affective psychotic patients; – what is the relationship between spectrum personality traits and neuropsychological deficits in these relatives.Relatives were interviewed using the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE), and also completed the National Adult Reading Test (NART), the Trail Making Test (TMT: Parts A and B) and Thurstone's Verbal Fluency Test (TVFT). Spectrum personality traits were equally common in the 129 relatives of schizophrenic and 106 relatives of affective psychotic patients. Relatives of psychotic patients who themselves had high paranoid traits had lower NART scores than those without such personality traits (p=0.007);similarly, those with high schizoid personality traits took longer to complete the TMT, part B than those without such traits (p=0.0l); and relatives with high schizotypal traits generated significantly fewer words on the verbal fluency test than those without such traits (p=0.04).

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The Modified Fuld Verbal Fluency Test: A Validation Study in Hong Kong

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/52b.5.p247 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 52B (5) ◽

pp. P247-P250 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

H. F. K. Chiu ◽

C. K. Y. Chan ◽

L. C. W. Lam ◽

K.-o. Ng ◽

S.-w. Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Validation Study ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Fluency Test

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Characteristics of verbal fluency in patients with a primary episode of bipolar affective disorder

Psychiatry Neurology and Medical Psychology ◽

10.26565/2312-5675-2020-13-02 ◽

2020 ◽

Keyword(s):

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Affective Disorder ◽

Test Performance ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

High Speed ◽

Bipolar Affective Disorder ◽

Rapid Change ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Manic Symptoms ◽

Fluency Test

A study was conducted using the verbal fluency test of 153 patients with a primary episode of bipolar affective disorder: with prevalence of depressive symptoms (44 men and 75 women), with prevalence of manic symptoms (15 men and 8 women), and with simultaneous presence of depressive symptoms and manic symptoms phase change (6 men and 5 women). Significant impairment of test performance in patients with depression with respect to phonetic and semantic verbal fluency was revealed: the average number of words per letter "K" per 60 sec. in all patients 14,1±2,7 words, in men – 13,8±3,1 words, in women - 14,3±2,4 words, on the letter "P" – 12,5±2,8 respectively words, 12.3±3.2 words, 12.6±2.6 words, "Male Names" – 13.1±2.6 words respectively, 12.8±3.0 words, 13.3±2,4 words; "Fruits / furniture" – 12.0±2.4 words, 11.9±2.8 words, 12.1±2.1 words. Deterioration in the performance of semantic and phonemic verbal fluency test reflects the state of bradypsychism inherent in patients with depressive variant, which manifests a slow thinking rate, difficulty concentrating attention, motor inhibition, deterioration of operational capacity, rapid exhaustion. In patients with a maniacal variant, the high speed of the test is offset by a large number of errors due to the chaotic mental activity, instability and scattering of attention, the difficulty of maintaining focus of attention: the indicators were respectively 21.7±5.7 words, 22.5±5.7 words, 20,3±6.0 words; 20.3±5.6 words, 21.1±5.5 words, 19.0±5.9 words; 20.5±5.4 words, 21.2±5.2 words, 19.1±5.7 words; 19.5±5.4 words, 20.2±5.2 words, 18.1±5.7 words. In patients with mixed variants, the indicators of verbal fluency are reduced due to the influence of complex polymorphic symptoms with rapid change of state: respectively 16.5±5.6 words, 18.2±6.1 words, 14.4±4.8 words; 14.5±5.4 words, 16.2±5.7 words, 12.4±4.8 words; 15.4±5.4 words, 17.0±5.8 words, 13.4±4.8 words; 13.9±5.0 words, 15.5±5.3 words, 12.0±4.3 words. The differences in scores across all subtests in all groups between men and women are statistically insignificant (p>0.05).

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Graph analysis of verbal fluency test discriminates between patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls

European Neuropsychopharmacology ◽

10.1016/s0924-977x(17)31496-7 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 27 ◽

pp. S829-S830

Author(s):

K. Machalska ◽

A. Turek ◽

A.A. Chrobak ◽

A. Tereszko ◽

M. Siwek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Graph Analysis ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Fluency Test

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Investigation of Lateralization Effect in Prefrontal Cortex Activation During Verbal Fluency Test by Near Infrared Spectroscopy

2017 21st National Biomedical Engineering Meeting (BIYOMUT) ◽

10.1109/biyomut.2017.8479247 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Serkan Uslu ◽

Tunca Nuzket ◽

Guney Zeybek ◽

Mehmet Berke Goztepe ◽

Buket Cinemre ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Verbal Fluency ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Lateralization Effect ◽

Fluency Test

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Neuropsychological Correlates of Greek Alcoholic Patients Who Report Memory Disturbances

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/pr0.96.1.197-203 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 96 (1) ◽

pp. 197-203

Author(s):

Ioannis Liappas ◽

Ioulia Theotoka ◽

Elisabeth Kapaki ◽

Ioannis Ilias ◽

George P. Paraskevas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Verbal Fluency ◽

Digit Span ◽

Cultural Backgrounds ◽

Adult Intelligence Scale ◽

Verbal Fluency Test ◽

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale ◽

Short Test ◽

Test Category ◽

Wechsler Adult Intelligence ◽

Fluency Test

We studied 40 male and 37 female ( M age = 63 yr.) Greek alcoholic patients and an equal number of control subjects. Both groups were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Syndrome Short Test, the Verbal Fluency Test (Category & Letter), the Clock Test, and the Digit Span (Forward and Backward from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised). Alcoholic patients had statistically significant lower scores on MMSE, Verbal Fluency Test, and Digit Span, and higher scores on the Syndrome Short Test, while positive correlations were found among MMSE, Verbal Fluency Test, Clock Test, Digit Span-Backward, and age. These findings point to frontal lobe dysfunction in Greek alcoholic patients which is not different from that shown in patients from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

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