Abstract
In the present study, we investigated the Word Fluency Functions when reduced Working Memory (WM) capacity and impaired Attention Functions are recognized. We imposed the Japanese version of the reading span test (RST) and 3 types (category, letter, and verb) of word fluency tasks (WFTs) on 14 patients with attention disorder recognized as reduced WM capacity and 28 normal subjects. In the WFTs, 4 trials with a time limit of 60 s were conducted in each condition. The numbers of words generated in the WFTs were compared between the groups, and the correlation coefficient between the proportion of correctly recalled words in the Japanese RST version and the number of words generated in each WFT was calculated. Comparison of the numbers of generated words between the groups resulted in significantly more words by the normal subjects in all 3 conditions. Regarding the correlation between the proportion of correctly recalled words and number of generated words, a positive correlation was observed in the 3 conditions for normal subjects and category and verb conditions for patients with attention disorder. These results reveal that difference in WM capacity exerts influences on word fluency functions of patients with attention disorder. They also indicate that when using the letter fluency task as an assessment battery for fluency functions of patients with attention disorder, we need to fully consider the relationship between fluency and WM functions.
Highlights
Today, word fluency tasks are widely used for neuropsychological investigations of the patterns of word generation
Mann-Whitney U Test with a significance level of 5% was applied to compare the proportion of correctly recalled words (%) in the reading span test (RST) and the number of words generated in each word fluency tasks (WFTs) in between the impaired two hemispheres of the attention disorder group
Any significant difference between right and left hemispheres could not be recognized in the proportion of correctly recalled words (p=0.95 n.s.) in the RST and the number of words generated in each WFT (Category: p=0.78, Letter: p=0.78, Verb: p=0.83, all n.s.)
Summary
Word fluency tasks are widely used for neuropsychological investigations of the patterns of word generation. A category fluency task comprises the production of as many words as possible that belong to a given category within a time limit. Letter fluency tasks comprise the production of as many words as possible that begin with a particular letter within a time limit. This type of task requires employing the cognitive flexibility to search for words beginning with the same letter while suppressing the normal method of using a language (i.e. searching for words according to their meanings) [1]. Verb fluency tasks require the production of verbs associated with a noun (the stimulus word); many points regarding this generation process remain unclear. The strategy used in the process of word generation, differs depending on the nature of the stimulus word
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