Language
Figure: example of a time-limited (1min) animal verbal fluency task.
Language was assessed using the 1-min animal verbal fluency test and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination.
Verbal fluency tests, like the semantic fluency test, rely on the retrieval of specific information from memory and to verbally produce a list of words. Two types of restrictions are commonly applied: phonological (e.g., letter fluency) and semantic (e.g., animals) clustering. The outcome measure is the speed and ease of production and the final number of words generated in a given time (e.g., 1 min). This group of tests is sometimes considered as speech/language assessments and sometimes as executive functioning tests [1].
Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), is a neuropsychological assessment battery that samples from a range of language components for diagnostic and treatment purposes. The BDAE was originally developed and validated by Goodglass & Kaplan [2] and has since been through several iterations with the latest version also offering a shortened version [e.g. 3]. The BDAE is a systematic and comprehensive assessment comprising 34 subtests, which can take up to four hours. Patients are asked to answer a semi structured interview and engage in free conversation. Each subtest is scored for correct responses and converted into percentiles.
| Score | Info |
|---|---|
| animal_raw | Animal name fluency (SVFT) |
| boston_raw | Picture naming (BDAE) |
| commands_raw | Performing listen commands (BDAE) |
| nonword | Nonword repetition (BDAE) |
| reading_comp_raw | Comprehension of read sentence (BDAE) |
| reading_raw | Sentence reading (BDAE) |
| word_raw | Comprehension of listen word (BDAE) |
SVFT= Standard Verbal Fluency Test, BDAE=Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination.
1. Whiteside, D.M., et al., Verbal Fluency: Language or Executive Function Measure? Appl Neuropsychol Adult, 2016. 23(1): p. 29-34.
2. Goodglass, H. and E. Kaplan, The assessment of aphasia and related disorders (2nd ed.). 1983, Philadelphia: Liea & Febiger.
3. Goodglass, H., E. Kaplan, and B. Barresi, The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. 2000, Philadelphia: Lippincott.