Verbal fluency deficits co-occur with memory deficits in geriatric
patients at risk for dementia: Implications for the concept of mild cognitive
impairment
Affiliations: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT,
USA | Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. Keith Hawkins, Psy.D., 34 Park St.,
Room 530, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. Tel.: +1 203 974 7831; Fax: +1 203 974
7881; E-mail: Keith.hawkins@yale.edu
Abstract: We tested the notion that patients at high risk for progression to
Alzheimer's disease (AD) display relatively isolated memory deficits by
assessing the relationship between memory and fluency performances in a sample
of 92 geriatric subjects with cognitive complaints and normal to mild clinical
presentations. Patient groups were formed on the basis of memory test scores.
Patients with normal memory scores also performed normally on fluency tests,
and their fluency scores were significantly higher than those of patients with
low memory performances. Patients falling between these two groups in memory
abilities also displayed intermediate level fluency performances. Whereas the
normal memory group performed at equivalent levels on semantic and phonemic
fluency tasks, both the impaired memory group and the intermediate group
displayed relatively greater weaknesses in semantic fluency. This pattern is
similar to that seen in AD. Since the impaired memory patients meet criteria
for Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment, these findings suggest that memory
deficits in "pre-clinical" AD are likely to be accompanied by fluency
weaknesses, with semantic fluency weaknesses predominating.
