TY - JOUR
T1 - Validity of the construct of no verbal memory
T2 - A factor-analytic study in a normal elderly sample
AU - Smith, G. E.
AU - Malec, J. F.
AU - Ivnik, R. J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The idea that nonverbal memory is distinct from verbal memory and is lateralized to the nondominant or right hemisphere has influenced clinical thinking and the development of instruments in neuropsychology for much of the history of this field. Common measures of memory maintain the distinction between verbal and nonverbal memory (Denman, 1984; Wechsler, 1945, 1987). However, the validity of the construct of nonverbal memory remains controversial. Research with right temporal lobectomized patients has both supported (Milner, 1972) and failed to observe (Ivnik, Sharbrough, & Laws, 1987, 1988; Lee, Loring, & Thompson, 1989; Naugle, Chelune, Luders, & Awad, 1991) the dissociation of * This study was supported by grants from the Mayo Foundation and the National Institute on Aging (AG06786-04). The authors wish to express their appreciation to Glenn Larrabee, Ph.D. for his assistance in the formulation of the analyses completed in this study. Requests for reprints should be sent to Glenn E. Smith, Ph.D., Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. Accepted for publication: April 5, 1991.
PY - 1992
Y1 - 1992
N2 - One problem in evaluating the construct of nonverbal memory is finding a purely nonverbal memory measure. Encouraged by initial research with a new measure, the Visual Spatial Learning Test (VSLT), we examined nonverbal memory in a normal elderly sample. Subjects were 460 community-dwelling individuals between the ages of 55-95. All received neuropsychological batteries which included the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and the VSLT. Two variable sets were created to avoid overlapping immediate and delayed recall trials for the same stimulus materials. Exploratory factor analyses using two different extraction methods were performed. Across analyses a single general memory factor was observed, no modality or time specific factors were found. If it can be assumed that we used adequate measures of nonverbal memory, our results combine with prior research to challenge the validity of the construct of nonverbal memory as distinct from verbal memory, especially in older normal adult populations.
AB - One problem in evaluating the construct of nonverbal memory is finding a purely nonverbal memory measure. Encouraged by initial research with a new measure, the Visual Spatial Learning Test (VSLT), we examined nonverbal memory in a normal elderly sample. Subjects were 460 community-dwelling individuals between the ages of 55-95. All received neuropsychological batteries which included the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, and the VSLT. Two variable sets were created to avoid overlapping immediate and delayed recall trials for the same stimulus materials. Exploratory factor analyses using two different extraction methods were performed. Across analyses a single general memory factor was observed, no modality or time specific factors were found. If it can be assumed that we used adequate measures of nonverbal memory, our results combine with prior research to challenge the validity of the construct of nonverbal memory as distinct from verbal memory, especially in older normal adult populations.
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U2 - 10.1080/01688639208402824
DO - 10.1080/01688639208402824
M3 - Article
C2 - 1572945
AN - SCOPUS:0026611775
SN - 1380-3395
VL - 14
SP - 211
EP - 221
JO - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
JF - Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology
IS - 2
ER -