Demographically corrected normative data for the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised in an elderly sample

Abstract

ABSTRACTDemographic variables, such as age, education, and gender, routinely affect performance on neuropsychological tests. Whereas normative data are available to correct for these variables on many tests, data are lacking on the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R), especially in the elderly. The current study examined the influence of age, education, and gender on HVLT-R and BVMT-R scores in 290 cognitively intact older adults. Age negatively correlated with nearly every score on the HVLT-R and BVMT-R, and education positively correlated with most scores on these same 2 memory tests. There were fewer gender differences on these tests. Using stepwise multiple regression, HVLT-R and BVMT-R scores were predicted from age, education, and/or gender. When observed scores are compared to these demographically adjusted predicted scores, clinicians can make assumptions about how an individual compared to his/her age-, education-, and gender-matched peers. The current conorming of these 2 memory tests also allows for direct comparison between verbal and visual memory in older patients.