			Home About us Contact

Word Association Test (word + association_test)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	75%

Selected Abstracts

The moderating role of personality factors in the relationship between depression and neuropsychological functioning among older adults

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 9 2009
Brian J. Ayotte
Abstract Objective Depression is often associated with decreased cognitive performance among older adults. The current study focused on the association of neuropsychological functioning and personality traits in depressed and non-depressed older adults. Methods Data from 75 depressed and 103 non-depressed adults over the age of 60 were analyzed. All participants underwent standardized clinical assessment for depression prior to participation and completed the NEO-PI-R and a series of neuropsychological assessments. Results A series of multiple linear regressions were conducted to examine the relationships between personality and neuropsychological performance among depressed and non-depressed older adults. Results indicated that higher Openness to Experience was related to better performance on Parts A and B of the Trail Making Test among depressed older adults, and to better Digit Span Backward performance among all participants. Higher levels of neuroticism were related to poorer performance on Digit Span Backward, but only among depressed older adults. Depressed participants performed more poorly on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test and the Controlled Oral Word Association Test. Conclusions Personality characteristics, particularly Openness to Experience, modified the relationship between depression and neuropsychological functioning among older adults. Results indicate that interventions aimed at increasing one's Openness to Experience could potentially attenuate some of the neuropsychological impairments that are associated with depression. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Antiepileptic monotherapy significantly impairs normative scores on common tests of executive functions

ACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 3 2009
E. Hessen
Background,,, Understanding how antiepileptic (AED) monotherapy influences normative test scores is of importance in the clinic for correct interpretation of neuropsychological profiles. Previous studies have primarily reported minor influence on neuropsychological raw scores, and the clinical relevance of these findings is unclear. Aim of the study ,To obtain a clinical valid answer to this question, we analysed changes in T-scores after AED withdrawal in a large group of well-controlled epilepsy patients, for tests previously shown to be sensitive to AED withdrawal. Methods ,We report outcomes on measures of choice reaction time from the California Computerized Assessment Package, on the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and on the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test. Results ,Significantly improved T-scores were revealed after AED withdrawal on five of the six tests of executive functions with mean improvement of 5 T-scores. Comparable results were achieved in the subgroup taking carbamazepine, with a mean improvement of 6.2 T-scores. Conclusion ,The present results suggest that T-scores for computerized tests of choice reaction time and tests of verbal fluency and response inhibition may be significantly impaired as a consequence of AED monotherapy, and that careful interpretation of these scores is required in diagnostic assessment of patients receiving AED monotherapy. [source]

Multicompetence and L2 users' associative links: being unlike nativelike

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF APPLIED LINGUISTICS, Issue 1 2010
Alla Zareva
The study set out to examine the effects of multicompetence on proficient L2 users' associative links. Three groups of 36 participants each were recruited , NSs of English, NSs of Bulgarian, and proficient Bulgarian L2 users of English , who completed a familiarity and word association test. The findings revealed that L2 users' natural drive to main connectivity of their lexicons was the motivation for their building lexicosemantic connectedness , which, however, was unlike the patterns of connectivity maintained by the native speakers of both their languages. This showed that, as a result of their developing multicompetence, the L2 users were unlike nativelike in that they developed their lexicosemantic associative links favoring diversity over communality and language-neutral idiosyncrasy over L1 or L2 nativelikeness. [source]

Cognitive Screening Using a Tape Recorder: A Pilot Study

JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 3 2003
Peter W. Schofield MD
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a tape recorder can be used to administer cognitive tests efficiently and yield valid results. DESIGN: Convenience sample. Administration of cognitive test materials by tape recorder and conventional technique. SETTING: Outpatient clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Subjects from memory disorder clinic, hostel accommodation, and community. MEASUREMENTS: Responses to Hopkins Verbal Learning Test,revised, verbal fluency items from the controlled oral word association test, 10-item naming task, a construction task, and speed writing task. RESULTS: Performances on the tape- and clinician-administered battery of tests were highly correlated. Memory impairment was accurately detected using the tape battery. Data from 30 minutes of testing via tape were obtained at the cost to the clinician of 2 to 3 minutes of scoring time. CONCLUSION: Tape-administration of cognitive test material warrants further study as an efficient means of cognitive screening. [source]