Clustering and switching on verbal fluency tests in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Troyer, Angela K.; Moscovitch, Morris; Winocur, Gordon; Leach, Larry; Freedman, and Morris

doi:10.1017/s1355617798001374

Cited by 308Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismHistorical and Modern Theater Studies

Clustering and switching on verbal fluency tests in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Troyer, Angela K., Moscovitch, Morris, Winocur, Gordon, Leach, Larry, Freedman, and Morris·1998·Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

DOI 10.1017/s1355617798001374

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Two components of verbal fluency performance--clustering (i.e., generating words within subcategories) and switching (i.e., shifting between subcategories)--were examined in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), patients with dementia with Parkinson's disease (DPD), nondemented patients with Parkinson's disease (NPD), and demographically matched controls. The DAT and DPD groups were impaired in the number of words generated on both phonemic and semantic fluency. The DAT group produced smaller clusters on both tasks and switched less often on semantic fluency than controls. The DPD group switched less often on both tasks and produced smaller clusters on phonemic fluency than controls. The NPD group was not impaired on any fluency variable. Thus, the total number of words generated on phonemic and semantic fluency did not discriminate the dementia groups from their respective control groups, but measures of clustering and switching did. This differential pattern of performance provides evidence for the potential usefulness of measures of switching and clustering in the assessment of dementia.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1017/s1355617798001374

Cites

53 of 53 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Troyer et al. found that spontaneous switching during semantic verbal fluency was related to frontal lobe functioning in dementia patients.
“For example, in a behavioral investigation of patients with dementia, Troyer et al (1998) found that spontaneous switching to facilitate word generation during semantic verbal fluency tasks was related to frontal lobe functioning.”
From Neural systems supporting lexical search guided by letter and semantic category cues: a self-paced overt response fMRI study of verbal fluency (2010) · cites this paper as Troyer et al (1998)

“Mini-mental state”
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., & McHugh, P. R. (1975) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6 · Cited by 88,282 · see citing works
Neuropathological stageing of Alzheimer-related changes.
Braak, H., & Braak, E. (1991) · Acta Neuropathologica · doi:10.1007/bf00308809 · Cited by 16,123 · see citing works
Alzheimer's disease: cell-specific pathology isolates the hippocampal formation.
Hyman, B. T., Van Hoesen, G. W., Damasio, A. R., & Barnes, C. L. (1984) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.6474172 · Cited by 2,268 · see citing works
CATEGORY SPECIFIC SEMANTIC IMPAIRMENTS
Warrington, E. K., & Shallice, T. (1984) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/107.3.829 · Cited by 2,212 · see citing works
Beck Depression Inventory
(2012) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/springerreference_179754 · Cited by 2,095 · see citing works
SEMANTIC DEMENTIA: PROGRESSIVE FLUENT APHASIA WITH TEMPORAL LOBE ATROPHY
HODGES, J. R., PATTERSON, K., OXBURY, S., & FUNNELL, E. (1992) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/115.6.1783 · Cited by 1,710 · see citing works
Differential behavioral effects in frontal lobe disease
Benton, A. (1968) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(68)90038-9 · Cited by 1,575 · see citing works
The Clinical Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Wade, J. P. H., Mirsen, T. R., Hachinski, V. C., Fisman, M., Lau, C. S., & Merskey, H. (1987) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1987.00520130016010 · Cited by 1,416 · see citing works
Word fluency and brain damage
Borkowski, J. G., Benton, A. L., & Spreen, O. (1967) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(67)90015-2 · Cited by 1,324 · see citing works
Clustering and switching as two components of verbal fluency: Evidence from younger and older healthy adults.
Troyer, A. K., Moscovitch, M., & Winocur, G. (1997) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.11.1.138 · Cited by 1,241 · see citing works
Self-citation
FRONTAL LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE
TAYLOR, A. E., Saint‐Cyr, J. A., & Lang, A. E. (1986) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/109.5.845 · Cited by 887 · see citing works
Word production and comprehension in Alzheimer's diseáse: The breakdown of semantic knowledge
Martin, A. D., & Fedio, P. (1983) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(83)90059-7 · Cited by 700 · see citing works
[Dementia rating scale].
Yamada, M., Mitsuno, S., Kato, S., & Hirano, H. (1997) · PubMed · Cited by 683 · see citing works
Comparisons of Verbal Fluency Tasks in the Detection of Dementia of the Alzheimer Type
Monsch, A. U., Bondi, M. W., Butters, N., Salmon, D. P., Katzman, R., & Thal, L. J. (1992) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1992.00530360051017 · Cited by 658 · see citing works
Extra-dimensional versus intra-dimensional set shifting performance following frontal lobe excisions, temporal lobe excisions or amygdalo-hippocampectomy in man
Owen, A. M., Roberts, A. C., Polkey, C. E., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (1991) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(91)90063-e · Cited by 657 · see citing works
Is semantic memory consistently impaired early in the course of Alzheimer's disease? Neuroanatomical and diagnostic implications
Hodges, J. R. (1995) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(94)00127-b · Cited by 644 · see citing works
COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT IN EARLY, UNTREATED PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO MOTOR DISABILITY
Cooper, J. A., SAGAR, H. J., Jordan, N., Harvey, N. S., & Sullivan, E. V. (1991) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/114.5.2095 · Cited by 626 · see citing works
Clustering and switching on verbal fluency: the effects of focal frontal- and temporal-lobe lesions
Troyer, A. K., Moscovitch, M., Winocur, G., ALEXANDER, M. P., & Stuss, D. T. (1998) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(97)00152-8 · Cited by 626 · see citing works
Self-citation
Verbal fluency in aging and dementia
Rosen, W. G. (1980) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/01688638008403788 · Cited by 597 · see citing works
Episodic and Semantic Memory: A Comparison of Amnesic and Demented Patients
Butters, N., Granholm, E. L., Salmon, D. P., Grant, I., & Wolfe, J. (1987) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/01688638708410764 · Cited by 596 · see citing works
SEMANTIC MEMORY LOSS IN DEMENTIA OF ALZHEIMER'S TYPE
Chertkow, H. M., & Bub, D. N. (1990) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/113.2.397 · Cited by 571 · see citing works
Semantic memory in Alzheimer's disease.
Nebes, R. D. (1989) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.106.3.377 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Neuritic pathology and dementia in alzheimer's disease
McKee, A. C., Kosik, K. S., & Kowall, N. W. (1991) · Annals of Neurology · doi:10.1002/ana.410300206 · Cited by 358 · see citing works
Semantic impairment and anomia in Alzheimer's disease
Huff, F. J., Corkin, S., & Growdon, J. H. (1986) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(86)90103-3 · Cited by 347 · see citing works
Initial letter and semantic category fluency in Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and progressive supranuclear palsy.
Rosser, A. E., & Hodges, J. R. (1994) · Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.57.11.1389 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Retrieval from semantic memory in Alzheimer-type dementia
Ober, B. A., Dronkers, N. F., Koss, E., Delis, D. C., & Friedland, R. P. (1986) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/01688638608401298 · Cited by 246 · see citing works
A comparison of category and letter fluency in Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease.
Monsch, A. U., Bondi, M. W., Butters, N., Paulsen, J. S., Salmon, D. P., Brugger, P., & Swenson, M. R. (1994) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.8.1.25 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
The free recall of category examples.
Gruenewald, P. J., & Lockhead, G. R. (1980) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Human Learning & Memory · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.6.3.225 · Cited by 236 · see citing works
Analyzing the dynamics of free recall: An integrative review of the empirical literature
Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (1994) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03200763 · Cited by 219 · see citing works
Missile wounds of the brain
Albert, M. L. (1970) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(70)90088-6 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Neuropsychological characteristics of preclinical dementia in Parkinson's disease
Jacobs, D. M., Marder, K. S., Cote, L. J., Sano, M. C., Stern, Y., & Mayeux, R. P. (1995) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.45.9.1691 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease
Cummings, J. L., Darkins, A. W., Mendez, M. F., Hill, M. A., & Benson, D. F. (1988) · Neurology · doi:10.1212/wnl.38.5.680 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Semantic fluency in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease: Dissociation of storage and retrieval failures.
RANDOLPH, C. C., Braun, A. R., Goldberg, T. E., & Chase, T. N. (1993) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037//0894-4105.7.1.82 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
A comparison of the category fluency deficits associated with Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease
Tröster, A. I., Salmon, D. P., McCullough, D., & Butters, N. (1989) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(89)90032-1 · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Recovery from herpes simplex encephalitis: selective impairment of specific semantic categories with neuroradiological correlation.
Pietrini, V, Nertempi, P., Vaglia, A., Revello, M. G., Pinna, V, & Ferro-Milone, F. (1988) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.51.10.1284 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Clustering strategies on tasks of verbal fluency in Parkinson's disease
Raskin, S. A., Sliwinski, M. J., & Borod, J. C. (1992) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(92)90018-h · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Verbal fluency in dementia of frontal lobe type and dementia of alzheimer type
Pasquier, F., Lebert, F., Grymonprez, L., & Petit, H. (1995) · Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.58.1.81 · Cited by 156 · see citing works
Slowing of Cognitive Processing in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Dubois, B. (1988) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1988.00520350032011 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Alternating fluency in Parkinson's disease
Downes, J. J., Sharp, H. M., Costall, B., et al. (1993) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/116.4.887 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Implications of memory and language dysfunction in the naming deficit of senile dementia
Flicker, C., Ferris, S. H., Crook, T. H., & Bartus, R. T. (1987) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(87)90069-1 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Verbal fluency deficits in Parkinson's disease.
Auriacombe, S., Grossman, M., Carvell, S., Gollomp, S. M., Stern, M. B., & Hurtig, H. I. (1993) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.7.2.182 · Cited by 109 · see citing works
Comparison of Cognitive Changes in Patients With Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease
Stern, Y., Richards, M., Sano, M., et al. (1993) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1993.00540100035011 · Cited by 97 · see citing works
The naming disorder of dementia of Alzheimer type
Shuttleworth, E. C., & Huber, S. J. (1988) · Brain and Language · doi:10.1016/0093-934x(88)90134-4 · Cited by 95 · see citing works
Word fluency in patients with early dementia of Alzheimer type
Hart, S., Smith, C. M., & Swash, M. (1988) · British Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1988.tb00759.x · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Retrieval from semantic and letter-initial categories in patients with Parkinson's disease
Gurd, J. M., & Ward, C. D. (1989) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(89)90120-6 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Learning deficit in Parkinson's disease. Comparison with Alzheimer's disease and normal aging.
El-Awar, M., Becker, J. T., Hammond, K. M., Nebes, R., & Boller, F. (1987) · Archives of Neurology · doi:10.1001/archneur.1987.00520140048016 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Verbal and nonverbal fluency in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease.
Mickanin, J., Grossman, M., Onishi, K., Auriacombe, S., & Clark, C. M. (1994) · Neuropsychology · doi:10.1037/0894-4105.8.3.385 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Generative naming in parkinson disease patients
Bayles, K. A., Trosset, M. W., Tomoeda, C. K., Montgomery, E. B., & Wilson, J. (1993) · Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/01688639308402578 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Cognitive Disturbances in Parkinson's Disease
Beatty, W. W., Staton, R. D., Weir, W. S., et al. (1989) · Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurology · doi:10.1177/089198878900200106 · Cited by 76 · see citing works
Verbal fluency in parkinson's disease
Hanlly, J. R., Dewick, H. C., Davies, A. D. M., Playeer, J., & Turnbull, C. (1990) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(90)90129-c · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Defective concept formation in parkinsonians is independent from mental deterioration.
Caltagirone, C., Carlesimo, G. A., Nocentini, U., & Vicari, S. (1989) · Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry · doi:10.1136/jnnp.52.3.334 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Speed and flexibility on word fluency tasks after focal brain lesions
Vilkki, J. S., & Holst, P. (1994) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(94)90107-4 · Cited by 48 · see citing works
Semantic and letter category naming in Alzheimer's patients: A predictable difference
Bayles, K. A., Salmon, D. P., Tomoeda, C. K., Jacobs, D. M., Caffrey, J. T., Kaszniak, A. W., & Tröster, A. I. (1989) · Developmental Neuropsychology · doi:10.1080/87565648909540443 · Cited by 38 · see citing works

Flagged first, then by citations

Sorted by citations

Neural systems supporting lexical search guided by letter and semantic category cues: a self-paced overt response fMRI study of verbal fluency
Birn, R. M., Kenworthy, L., Case, L., Caravella, R., Jones, T. B., Bandettini, P. A., & Martin, A. (2010) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.036 · Cited by 377 · see citing works
Fully Automatic Speech-Based Analysis of the Semantic Verbal Fluency Task
König, A., Linz, N., Tröger, J., Wolters, M., Alexandersson, J., & Robert, P. (2018) · Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders · doi:10.1159/000487852 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Guanfacine enhances inhibitory control and attentional shifting in early abstinent cocaine-dependent individuals
Fox, H., Sofuoglu, M., & Sinha, R. (2015) · Journal of Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1177/0269881114562464 · Cited by 30 · see citing works

Authors: Troyer, A. K., Moscovitch, M., Winocur, G., Leach, L., & Freedman, A. M.
Affiliations: University of Toronto (CA)
Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care (CA)
ORCID: Troyer, Angela K.
Moscovitch, Morris
Winocur, Gordon
Venue: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Published: 1998-03
Volume: 4
Issue: 2
Pages: 137-143
ISSN: 1355-6177 (ISSN-L)
1469-7661
DOI: 10.1017/s1355617798001374
OpenAlex: W2030001756
Cited by: 308
References: 53
Citations by year: 2026: 10 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 16
FWCI: 2.74
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 1128 d)
Locations: Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Historical and Modern Theater Studies
Keywords: verbal fluency, clustering, switching, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, phonemic fluency, semantic fluency, dementia assessment, executive function
MeSH terms: Aged, Alzheimer Disease, Female, Humans, Male, Neuropsychological Tests, Parkinson Disease, Verbal Behavior

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Clustering and switching on verbal fluency tests in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Integrity signals

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Cites

Cited by

Related

Record

About these checks