Knowledge of semantic categories in normal aged: Influence of education

Barea, Karla Shimura; Mansur, Leticia Lessa

doi:10.1590/S1980-57642008DN10200009

Abstract

Semantic memory seems to resist the effects of time, remaining stable even in more advanced ages.

Objective:

To verify the effect of schooling level on semantic knowledge (non-living items) in normal aged.

Method:

48 aged individuals were divided into three groups (based on schooling) and evaluated. Three tests were applied: verbal fluency, naming and figure classification.

Results:

We verified that the group with greater schooling (>8 years) differed to the illiterate and low schooling groups in most of the tasks, evoking more items in verbal fluency, correctly naming more items and presenting a greater number of "formal categories".

Discussion:

In the verbal fluency test, this difference could be explained by the types of strategies used by the individuals to recall words. In relation to the naming test, the effect could be attributed to limitation in the vocabulary and cognitive processing skills needed to search for semantic attributes of the figures. In categorization, this type of classification is dependent on scholastic learning.

Conclusion:

We concluded that both illiterate elderly and those having a low schooling level, presented poorer performance in semantic memory tests compared to the aged with a higher level of schooling. The similar behavior evidenced between illiterate and low schooling groups is intriguing. It remains unclear whether the low schooling group behaved like the illiterates or vice-a-versa. This unanswered question remains the subject of future studies.

Key words:
memory semantics; aged; schooling; language.

Resumo

A memória semântica parece resistir aos efeitos do tempo e mantém estabilidade mesmo em idades mais avançadas.

Objetivo:

Verificar o efeito de escolaridade no conhecimento semântico de categorias inanimadas em idosos normais.

Método:

48 indivíduos idosos foram divididos em três grupos baseados no nível de escolaridade e avaliados. Três testes foram aplicados: fluência verbal, nomeação e classificação de figuras.

Resultados:

Houve diferença significativa no desempenho dos grupos, nos três testes: fluência verbal, nomeação e categorização.

Discussão:

A diferença entre os grupos no teste de fluência verbal pode ser explicada pela disponibilidade de maior número de estratégias eficientes no grupo escolarizado, para resgatar os itens. Em relação ao teste de nomeação, a desvantagem do grupo menos escolarizado pode ser atribuída à restrição de vocabulário e habilidades para identificar os atributos semânticos dos itens, mais limitada nos indivíduos com menor escolaridade. Na categorização de figuras, o grupo com maior escolaridade apresentou maior número de "categorias formais", cujo conhecimento depende do aprendizado escolar.

Conclusão:

Os idosos com restrito acesso à instrução formal fornecida pela escola, apresentam desempenho pior nos testes de memória semântica, quando comparados com idosos escolarizados. O comportamento similar dos grupos analfabeto e pouco escolarizado é intrigante. Não sabemos se os indivíduos analfabetos se comportaram como os pouco escolarizados ou se os indivíduos pouco escolarizados se aproximaram dos analfabetos. Esta questão não respondida permanece como motivação para futuros estudos.

Palavras-chave:
memória; idosos; escolaridade; linguagem.

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References

¹
Rozenthal M, Engelhardt E, Laks J. Memória: Aspectos Funcionais. Rev Bras Neurol 1995;31:157-160.
²
Taussik I, Wagner GP. Memória Explícita e Envelhecimento. In: Parente MAMP, editor. Cognição e Envelhecimento. 1st ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed; 2006:67-84.
³
Garrard P, Perry R, Hodges JR. Disorders of Semantic Memory (Editorial). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 1997;32:431-435.
⁴
Yassuda MS. Memória e Envelhecimento Saudável. In: Freitas EV, Py L, Cançado FAX, Gorzoni ML, editores. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Guanabara Koogan, 2002.
⁵
Collins AM, Loftus EF. A Spreading-Activation Theory of Semantic Processing. Psychol Rev 1975;82:407-428.
⁶
Nicholas M, Obler L, Albert M, Goodglass H. Lexical retrieval in Healthy Aging. Cortex 1985;21:595-606.
⁷
Leibovici D, Ritchie K, Ledésert B, Touchon J. Does Education Level Determine the Course of Cognitive Decline? Age Ageing 1996;25:392-397.
⁸
Rüegg D. Análise da Influência de Variáveis Demográficas: Escolaridade e Idade no Conhecimento de Categorias Semânticas em Indivíduos Normais. (Dissertação) Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, 2004.
⁹
Knotek PC, Bayles KA, Kaszniak AW. Response Consistency on a Semantic Memory Task in Persons with Dementia of the Alzheimer Type. Brain Lang 1990;38:465-475.
¹⁰
Eustache F, Rioux P, Desgranges B, et al. Healthy Aging, Memory Subsystems and Regional Cerebral Oxygen Consumption. Neuropsychologia 1995;33:867-887.
¹¹
Cox DM, Bayles KA, Trosset MW. Category and Attribute Knowledge Deterioration in Alzheimer´s Disease. Brain Lang 1996;52:536-550.
¹²
Mansur LL, Radanovic M, Araújo G de C, Taquemori LY, Grecco LL. Boston Naming Test: performance of Brazilian population from Sao Paulo. Pro-Fono 2006;18:13-20.
¹³
Brucki SMD, Rocha MS. Category fluency et al effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004;37:1771-1777.
¹⁴
Job R, Rumiati R, Lotto L. The Picture Superiority Effect in Categorization: Visual or Semantic? J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 1992;18:1019-1028.
¹⁵
Smith GE, Ivnik RJ. Normative neuropsychology. In: Petersen RC, editor. Mild Cognitive Impairment. New York: Oxford; 2003:63-88.
¹⁶
Raymer AM, Rothi LJG. Cognitive Approaches to Impairment of Word Comprehension in Production. In: Chapey R, editor. Language Intervention Strategies in Aphasia and Related Communication Disorders. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2001:524-550.
¹⁷
Wingfield A, Prentice K, Koh CK, Little D. Neural Change, Cognitive Reserve and Behavioral Compensation in Rapid Encoding and Memory for Spoken Language in Adult Aging. In: Connor LT and Obler LK. Neurobehavior of Language and Cognition. Kluwer Boston: Academic Publishers; 2000:3-21.
¹⁸
Porto CS. A escala de avaliação de demência (DRS) no diagnóstico de comprometimento cognitivo leve e doença de Alzheimer (Tese). Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, 2006.
¹⁹
Silva CG, Petersson KM, Faísca L, Ingvar M, Reis A. The Effects of Literacy and Education on the Qualitative Aspects of Semantic Verbal Fluency. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2004;26:266-277.
²⁰
Neil J, Baris JM, Carter C, et al. Effects of Age, Education, and Living Environment on Boston Naming Test Performance. J Speech Hear Res 1995;38:1143-1149.
²¹
Pompéia S, Miranda MC, Bueno OFA. A Set of 400 Pictures Standardised for Portuguese. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:330-337.
²²
Laiacona M, Capitani E, Barbarotto R. Do Living and Nonliving Categories Need Further Fractionation? A Study of Picture Naming in a Pathological Sample. Brain Cog 2000;43: 291-296.
²³
Moss HE, Tyler LK. A progressive Categoy-Specific Semantic Deficit for Non-Living Things. Neuropsychologia 2000;38:60-82.
²⁴
Bayles KA, Tomoeda CK. Confrontation Naming Impairment in Dementia. Brain Lang 1983;19:98-114.
²⁵
Rodriguez-Aranda C, Martinussen M. Age-related differences in performance of phonemic verbal fluency measured by Controlled Oral Word Association Task (COWAT): a meta-analytic study. Dev Neuropsychol 2006;30:697-717.
²⁶
Burton LA, Henninger D, Hafetz J. Gender differences in relations of mental rotation, verbal fluency, and SAT scores to finger length ratios as hormonal indexes. Dev Neuropsychol 2005;28:493-505.
²⁷
Goldstein FC, Green J, Presley P, Green R. Dysnomia in Alzheimer´s Disease: An Evaluation of neurobehavioral Subtypes. Brain Lang 1992;43:308-322.
²⁸
Janczura GA. Normas Associativas para 69 Categorias Semânticas. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa 1996;12:237-244.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Apr-Jun 2007

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License

[1] ¹
Rozenthal M, Engelhardt E, Laks J. Memória: Aspectos Funcionais. Rev Bras Neurol 1995;31:157-160.

[2] ²
Taussik I, Wagner GP. Memória Explícita e Envelhecimento. In: Parente MAMP, editor. Cognição e Envelhecimento. 1st ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed; 2006:67-84.

[3] ³
Garrard P, Perry R, Hodges JR. Disorders of Semantic Memory (Editorial). J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatr 1997;32:431-435.

[4] ⁴
Yassuda MS. Memória e Envelhecimento Saudável. In: Freitas EV, Py L, Cançado FAX, Gorzoni ML, editores. Rio de Janeiro, RJ: Guanabara Koogan, 2002.

[5] ⁵
Collins AM, Loftus EF. A Spreading-Activation Theory of Semantic Processing. Psychol Rev 1975;82:407-428.

[6] ⁶
Nicholas M, Obler L, Albert M, Goodglass H. Lexical retrieval in Healthy Aging. Cortex 1985;21:595-606.

[7] ⁷
Leibovici D, Ritchie K, Ledésert B, Touchon J. Does Education Level Determine the Course of Cognitive Decline? Age Ageing 1996;25:392-397.

[8] ⁸
Rüegg D. Análise da Influência de Variáveis Demográficas: Escolaridade e Idade no Conhecimento de Categorias Semânticas em Indivíduos Normais. (Dissertação) Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo. São Paulo, 2004.

[9] ⁹
Knotek PC, Bayles KA, Kaszniak AW. Response Consistency on a Semantic Memory Task in Persons with Dementia of the Alzheimer Type. Brain Lang 1990;38:465-475.

[10] ¹⁰
Eustache F, Rioux P, Desgranges B, et al. Healthy Aging, Memory Subsystems and Regional Cerebral Oxygen Consumption. Neuropsychologia 1995;33:867-887.

[11] ¹¹
Cox DM, Bayles KA, Trosset MW. Category and Attribute Knowledge Deterioration in Alzheimer´s Disease. Brain Lang 1996;52:536-550.

[12] ¹²
Mansur LL, Radanovic M, Araújo G de C, Taquemori LY, Grecco LL. Boston Naming Test: performance of Brazilian population from Sao Paulo. Pro-Fono 2006;18:13-20.

[13] ¹³
Brucki SMD, Rocha MS. Category fluency et al effects of age, gender and education on total scores, clustering and switching in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking subjects. Braz J Med Biol Res 2004;37:1771-1777.

[14] ¹⁴
Job R, Rumiati R, Lotto L. The Picture Superiority Effect in Categorization: Visual or Semantic? J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 1992;18:1019-1028.

[15] ¹⁵
Smith GE, Ivnik RJ. Normative neuropsychology. In: Petersen RC, editor. Mild Cognitive Impairment. New York: Oxford; 2003:63-88.

[16] ¹⁶
Raymer AM, Rothi LJG. Cognitive Approaches to Impairment of Word Comprehension in Production. In: Chapey R, editor. Language Intervention Strategies in Aphasia and Related Communication Disorders. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2001:524-550.

[17] ¹⁷
Wingfield A, Prentice K, Koh CK, Little D. Neural Change, Cognitive Reserve and Behavioral Compensation in Rapid Encoding and Memory for Spoken Language in Adult Aging. In: Connor LT and Obler LK. Neurobehavior of Language and Cognition. Kluwer Boston: Academic Publishers; 2000:3-21.

[18] ¹⁸
Porto CS. A escala de avaliação de demência (DRS) no diagnóstico de comprometimento cognitivo leve e doença de Alzheimer (Tese). Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, 2006.

[19] ¹⁹
Silva CG, Petersson KM, Faísca L, Ingvar M, Reis A. The Effects of Literacy and Education on the Qualitative Aspects of Semantic Verbal Fluency. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2004;26:266-277.

[20] ²⁰
Neil J, Baris JM, Carter C, et al. Effects of Age, Education, and Living Environment on Boston Naming Test Performance. J Speech Hear Res 1995;38:1143-1149.

[21] ²¹
Pompéia S, Miranda MC, Bueno OFA. A Set of 400 Pictures Standardised for Portuguese. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 2001;59:330-337.

[22] ²²
Laiacona M, Capitani E, Barbarotto R. Do Living and Nonliving Categories Need Further Fractionation? A Study of Picture Naming in a Pathological Sample. Brain Cog 2000;43: 291-296.

[23] ²³
Moss HE, Tyler LK. A progressive Categoy-Specific Semantic Deficit for Non-Living Things. Neuropsychologia 2000;38:60-82.

[24] ²⁴
Bayles KA, Tomoeda CK. Confrontation Naming Impairment in Dementia. Brain Lang 1983;19:98-114.

[25] ²⁵
Rodriguez-Aranda C, Martinussen M. Age-related differences in performance of phonemic verbal fluency measured by Controlled Oral Word Association Task (COWAT): a meta-analytic study. Dev Neuropsychol 2006;30:697-717.

[26] ²⁶
Burton LA, Henninger D, Hafetz J. Gender differences in relations of mental rotation, verbal fluency, and SAT scores to finger length ratios as hormonal indexes. Dev Neuropsychol 2005;28:493-505.

[27] ²⁷
Goldstein FC, Green J, Presley P, Green R. Dysnomia in Alzheimer´s Disease: An Evaluation of neurobehavioral Subtypes. Brain Lang 1992;43:308-322.

[28] ²⁸
Janczura GA. Normas Associativas para 69 Categorias Semânticas. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa 1996;12:237-244.

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