Linguistic decrement in normal aging

Background. Assessment of sentence-level auditory comprehension can be performed with a variety of tests varying in response requirements. A brief and easy to administer measure, not requiring an overt verbal or a complex motor response, is essential in any test battery for aphasia. Objective. The present study examines the clinical utility of receptive language indices for individuals with aphasia based on the Comprehension of Instructions in Greek (CIG), a variant of the Token Test, and the Greek version of PPVT-R. Methods. Normative data from a large community sample of Greek adults aged 46–80 years was available on both measures. A word-level-independent measure of auditory comprehension was computed as the standard score difference between the two tests and used to compare patients with and without comprehension deficits as indicated by their Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination profile. Results and Conclusions. Indices of internal consistency and test-retest reliability were very good. Education and age effects on performance were significant, with the former being stronger. The potential clinical utility of differential ability indices (contrasting sentence- and word-level auditory comprehension tests) is discussed.

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“…To our knowledge, only one study found significant age effects [39]. However, age effects have been reported for differently designed SLAC tests.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Verbal Comprehension Ability in Aphasia: Demographic and Lexical Knowledge Effects

Simos

Kasselimis

Potagas

et al. 2014

Behavioural Neurology

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“…Feir and Gerstman (1980, p. 726) concluded that 'When sentence comprehension scores were adjusted for their correlations with vocabulary and digit span, significant age differences remained which discriminated the oldest groups from each other and from the two youngest groups'. Similarly, Emery's (1986, p. 57) 74-91 age group showed clear evidence of decrement in syntactic processing, particularly 'in the absence of semantic redundancy and in the presence of syntactic forms which are complex and acquired late in language development'. Kemper (1986Kemper ( , 1987 also reports that the elderly in the age range 70-89 years find it difficult to imitate and paraphrase complex syntactic structures.…”

Section: Language and The Ageing Processmentioning

confidence: 94%

The language production system and senile dementia of Alzheimer's type: Neuropathological implications

Patel

Satz

1994

Aphasiology

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Lexical encoding-retrieval processes in sentence production and semanticpragmatic relevance in discourse and specified as deficits in language processing in the early phase of senile dementia of Alzheimer's type (SDAT). Research on language processing in ageing and neurolinguistic architecture is combined in order to develop a framework for further research which can indicate a link between deterioration in language processing and progress in neuropathology in SDAT.

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“…Oral language processing was measured by six subtests from the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB; Kertesz, 1982) and by the Boston Naming Test (BNT; Kaplan et al, 1983). Oral language variables assessed were repetition, naming, auditory verbal comprehension, and grammatical-syntactic processing (Emery, 1985(Emery, ,1986(Emery, ,1993(Emery, ,1996Emery & Breslau, 1988Kertesz, 1979Kertesz, , 1982Yngve, 1986). The WAB Repetition test requires the participant to repeat 14 items.…”

Section: Other Cognitive Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reclassification of the Vascular Dementias: Comparisons of Infarct and Noninfarct Vascular Dementias

1996

Int. Psychogeriatr.

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This article focuses on some of the long-standing problems that exist in the classification of the vascular dementia. To clarify the definition of vasculardementia, mental statusandother cognitive processes were investigated in 12 patients with a single cerebral infarct (mean age, 74.8 years), 17 patients with multiple cerebral infarcts (mean age, 71.4 years), 21 vascular patients with no cerebral infarcts (mean age, 76.9 years), and 16 demographically equivalent normal elderly persons (mean age, 70.4 years). The following null hypotheses/ hypotheses were tested: (a) The cognitive impairment of single-infarct, multipleinfarct, and noninfarct vascular patients is nodis significantly greater than and outside the range of that in normal aging, and (b) there are/are not significant differences between single-infarct, multiple-infarct, and noninfarct vascular patients on mental status and other cognitive measures. Measures used included the Mini-Mental State Examination, Dementia Rating Scale, Western Aphasia Battery, and Boston Naming Test. Results indicate that vascular disorders involve a decrement in mental status and other cognitive functions that is significantly greater than the age-associated cognitive impairment of normal aging. Also, results from the study indicate that there were no robust, reliable significant differences between single-infarct, multiple-infarct, and noninfarct patients. The validity of the distinction of focal versus generalized or diffuse cerebral lesions is questioned. The nosologic entity of noninfarct vascular dementia is introduced. The future nosology of vascular dementia should provide for noninfarct vascular dementia, defined as vascular dementia caused by underlying vascular mechanisms other than cerebral infarction.

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Linguistic decrement in normal aging

Cited by 43 publications

References 29 publications

Verbal Comprehension Ability in Aphasia: Demographic and Lexical Knowledge Effects

Verbal Comprehension Ability in Aphasia: Demographic and Lexical Knowledge Effects

The language production system and senile dementia of Alzheimer's type: Neuropathological implications

Reclassification of the Vascular Dementias: Comparisons of Infarct and Noninfarct Vascular Dementias

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