Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTest MethodsScoringAccuracyProsCons
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Test Methods
Scoring
Accuracy
Pros
Cons
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By its name, you might guess that the test has something to do with speaking and speed, and you would be correct. The test consists of giving the person 60 seconds to verbally list as many things as possible in a category. Practitioners often use the verbal fluency test in two different ways:
Semantic/Category Subtest
The person is asked to list all of the animals he can think of in the next 60 seconds. Some variations include asking the test-taker to list all of the fruits, vegetables or the professions he can think of in 60 seconds.
Phonetic/Letter Subtest
To score the VFT, count up the total number of animals or words that the individual is able to produce.Norms for the scoring are based on age and education for each test.
Research has shown that the semantic VFT, in particular, is comparable to both theMMSEand the Clinical Dementia Rating scores, two other tests frequently used in cognitive testing. The semantic subtest has also been shown to be quite effective in measuringexecutive functioningand language ability. This may be because the semantic/category subtest seems to require a higher level of thought processes since people have to think of meaning rather than just beginning sounds of words.
The phonetic subtest does not appear as sensitive to the early stages of dementia; however, the test results as people age are quite stable, making it a valuable tool. If someone scores poorly on the phonetic subtest, it is quite likely an indicator of cognitive decline rather than older age.
5 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moses, MD S. Family Practice Notebook.Verbal Fluency Test.Alegret M, Peretó M, Pérez A, et al.The role of verb fluency in the detection of early cognitive impairment in alzheimer’s disease.J Alzheimers Dis.2018;62(2):611-619. doi:10.3233/JAD-170826Kim N, Kim J, Wolters M, Macpherson S, Park J.Automatic scoring of semantic fluency.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1020. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01020Shao Z, Janse E, Visser K, Meyer A.What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults.Front Psychol.2014;5:772. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00772De azeredo passos V, Giatti L, Bensenor I, et al.Education plays a greater role than age in cognitive test performance among participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).BMC Neurol.2015;15:191. doi:10.1186/s12883-015-0454-6Additional ReadingBrazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects.de Araujo NB, Barca ML, Engedal K, Coutinho ESF, Deslandes AC, Laks J. Verbal fluency in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and major depression. 2011;66(4).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093793/.Dement Neuropsychol 2008 December;2(4):328-332. Phonemic verbal fluency and age A preliminary study.Dement Neuropsychol 2009 December;3(4):315-320. Semantic Verbal Fluency test in dementia; Preliminary retrospective analysis.Gladsjo JA, Schuman CC, Evans JD, Peavy GM, Miller WS, Heaton RK. Norms for letter and category fluency: Demographic corrections for age, education, and ethnicity - Jul 26, 2016.Assessment. July 2016. doi:10.1177/107319119900600204.http://asm.sagepub.com/content/6/2/147.Wisconsin’s Alzheimer’s Institute. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Memory Screening and Early Diagnosis Projects in Wisconsin.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Moses, MD S. Family Practice Notebook.Verbal Fluency Test.Alegret M, Peretó M, Pérez A, et al.The role of verb fluency in the detection of early cognitive impairment in alzheimer’s disease.J Alzheimers Dis.2018;62(2):611-619. doi:10.3233/JAD-170826Kim N, Kim J, Wolters M, Macpherson S, Park J.Automatic scoring of semantic fluency.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1020. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01020Shao Z, Janse E, Visser K, Meyer A.What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults.Front Psychol.2014;5:772. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00772De azeredo passos V, Giatti L, Bensenor I, et al.Education plays a greater role than age in cognitive test performance among participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).BMC Neurol.2015;15:191. doi:10.1186/s12883-015-0454-6Additional ReadingBrazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects.de Araujo NB, Barca ML, Engedal K, Coutinho ESF, Deslandes AC, Laks J. Verbal fluency in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and major depression. 2011;66(4).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093793/.Dement Neuropsychol 2008 December;2(4):328-332. Phonemic verbal fluency and age A preliminary study.Dement Neuropsychol 2009 December;3(4):315-320. Semantic Verbal Fluency test in dementia; Preliminary retrospective analysis.Gladsjo JA, Schuman CC, Evans JD, Peavy GM, Miller WS, Heaton RK. Norms for letter and category fluency: Demographic corrections for age, education, and ethnicity - Jul 26, 2016.Assessment. July 2016. doi:10.1177/107319119900600204.http://asm.sagepub.com/content/6/2/147.Wisconsin’s Alzheimer’s Institute. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Memory Screening and Early Diagnosis Projects in Wisconsin.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Moses, MD S. Family Practice Notebook.Verbal Fluency Test.Alegret M, Peretó M, Pérez A, et al.The role of verb fluency in the detection of early cognitive impairment in alzheimer’s disease.J Alzheimers Dis.2018;62(2):611-619. doi:10.3233/JAD-170826Kim N, Kim J, Wolters M, Macpherson S, Park J.Automatic scoring of semantic fluency.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1020. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01020Shao Z, Janse E, Visser K, Meyer A.What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults.Front Psychol.2014;5:772. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00772De azeredo passos V, Giatti L, Bensenor I, et al.Education plays a greater role than age in cognitive test performance among participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).BMC Neurol.2015;15:191. doi:10.1186/s12883-015-0454-6
Moses, MD S. Family Practice Notebook.Verbal Fluency Test.
Alegret M, Peretó M, Pérez A, et al.The role of verb fluency in the detection of early cognitive impairment in alzheimer’s disease.J Alzheimers Dis.2018;62(2):611-619. doi:10.3233/JAD-170826
Kim N, Kim J, Wolters M, Macpherson S, Park J.Automatic scoring of semantic fluency.Front Psychol. 2019;10:1020. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01020
Shao Z, Janse E, Visser K, Meyer A.What do verbal fluency tasks measure? Predictors of verbal fluency performance in older adults.Front Psychol.2014;5:772. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00772
De azeredo passos V, Giatti L, Bensenor I, et al.Education plays a greater role than age in cognitive test performance among participants of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).BMC Neurol.2015;15:191. doi:10.1186/s12883-015-0454-6
Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. Category fluency test: effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects.de Araujo NB, Barca ML, Engedal K, Coutinho ESF, Deslandes AC, Laks J. Verbal fluency in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and major depression. 2011;66(4).http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3093793/.Dement Neuropsychol 2008 December;2(4):328-332. Phonemic verbal fluency and age A preliminary study.Dement Neuropsychol 2009 December;3(4):315-320. Semantic Verbal Fluency test in dementia; Preliminary retrospective analysis.Gladsjo JA, Schuman CC, Evans JD, Peavy GM, Miller WS, Heaton RK. Norms for letter and category fluency: Demographic corrections for age, education, and ethnicity - Jul 26, 2016.Assessment. July 2016. doi:10.1177/107319119900600204.http://asm.sagepub.com/content/6/2/147.Wisconsin’s Alzheimer’s Institute. University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Memory Screening and Early Diagnosis Projects in Wisconsin.
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