Age-related differences in word-retrieval but not in meaning generation.
This study examines age-associated changes in retrieval on a picture-naming task, phonemic and semantic fluency tasks, and the Homophone Meaning Generation Test (HMGT). The sample included 152 Hebrew-speaking adults, half young (mean age 22.75) and half old (mean age 76.05). Groups differed on the picture-naming task and on both verbal fluency tasks, but not on the HMGT. Age explained a greater share of the variance than did education level on these three tests, whereas the opposite pattern of results was seen on the HMGT. We suggest that age-related word finding difficulties are attenuated when performance allows for semantic rather than phonological access.
Department of Education and Psychology, The Open University, The Dorothy de Rothschild Campus, Ra'anana, Israel. gkave@012.net.il
Gitit
G
Kavé
Nira
N
Mashal
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D009275:Names; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010700:Phonetics; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012660:Semantics; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult