title: Dichotic assessment of verbal memory function: development and validation of the Persian version of Dichotic Verbal Memory Test.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Dichotic Verbal Memory Test (DVMT) is useful in detecting verbal memory deficits and differences in memory function between the brain hemispheres. The purpose of this study was to prepare the Persian version of DVMT, to obtain its results in 18- to 25-yr-old Iranian individuals, and to examine the ear, gender, and serial position effect.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Persian version of DVMT consisted of 18 10-word lists. After preparing the 18 lists, content validity was assessed by a panel of eight experts and the equivalency of the lists was evaluated. Then the words were recorded on CD in a dichotic mode such that 10 words were presented to one ear, with the same words reversed simultaneously presented to the other ear. Thereafter, it was performed on a sample of young, normal, Iranian individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty normal individuals (no history of neurological, ontological, or psychological diseases) with ages ranging from 18 to 25 yr were examined for evaluating the equivalency of the lists, and 110 subjects within the same age range participated in the final stage of the study to obtain the normative data on the developed test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference between the mean scores of the 18 developed lists (p > 0.05). The mean content validity index (CVI) score was .96. A significant difference was found between the mean score of the two ears (p < 0.05) and between female and male participants (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Persian version of DVMT has good content validity and can be used for verbal memory assessment in Iranian young adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aghamollaei
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jafari
authors.forename: Aliakbar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tahaei
authors.forename: Reyhane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Toufan
authors.forename: Mohammadreza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keyhani
authors.forename: Shadi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahimzade
authors.forename: Mahdieh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esmaeili
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D004007:Dichotic Listening Tests / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult