Computerized Analysis of Verbal Fluency: Normative Data and the Effects of Repeated Testing, Simulated Malingering, and Traumatic Brain Injury

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0166439
• Publication Date: 2016-12-09T14:28:28Z
• Authors: David L. Woods; John M. Wyma; Timothy J. Herron; E. William Yund
• Keywords: Verbal fluency test; Malingering

In verbal fluency (VF) tests, subjects articulate words in a specified category during short test period (typically 60 s). Verbal tests are widely used to study language development and evaluate memory retrieval neuropsychiatric disorders. Performance is usually measured as the total number of correct retrieved. Here, we describe properties computerized VF (C-VF) that tallies repetitions while providing additional lexical measures word frequency, syllable count, typicality. addition, C-VF permits (1) analysis rate responding over time, (2) semantic relationships between using new method, Explicit Semantic Analysis (ESA), well established clustering switching developed by Troyer et al. (1997). Experiment 1, gathered normative data from 180 ranging age 18 82 years ("animals") phonemic (letter "F") conditions. The retrieved 90 s correlated with education daily hours computer-use. production declined sharply time both tests. conditions, correct-word scores strongly ESA Troyer-defined switches an ESA-defined organization index (SOI). revealed significant influences sequence 2, examined test-retest reliability different across three weekly 40 young subjects. Different categories were for each ("animals", "parts body", "foods") (letters "F", "A", "S") condition. After regressing out computer-use, found z-scores first session did not differ those 1. Word was uniformly greater than Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) higher (0.91) (0.77) good also seen SOI (ICC = 0.68) 0.62). 3, performance 2 when instructed malinger: 38% showed abnormal (p< 0.05) Simulated malingerers could be distinguished 80% sensitivity 89% specificity 1 lexical, temporal, measures. 4, tested patients mild severe traumatic brain injury (mTBI sTBI). Patients mTBI performed within normal range, sTBI impairments shifts. provide automated comprehensive description performance.