The Effects of Age,Sex and Alzheimer's Disease on Strategy Use During Verbal Fluency Tasks |
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| Authors: | Nicole Haugrud Shawnda Lanting Margaret Crossley |
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| Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology , University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Nicole.haugrud@usask.ca;3. Department of Psychology , University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACT Clustering and switching strategies during phonemic and semantic verbal fluency tasks were investigated in healthy adults (n = 193, 86 males, 20–90 years) in young, middle-aged, young–old, and old–old age groups (Study 1). Older groups produced fewer total words and lower switching scores; males relied more on clustering and females on switching to produce equivalent output. In Study 2, early Alzheimer's disease participants, compared to healthy older adults, (n = 26 per group) produced fewer total words and smaller average clusters. Sex, age, and clinical differences on switching and clustering strategies support a dual processing model of verbal fluency. |
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| Keywords: | Verbal fluency Age differences Sex differences Alzheimer's disease Clustering and switching |
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