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A Validation Study of Memory and Executive Functions Indexes in French-Speaking Healthy Young and Older Adults*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2014

Alexandra Fortin  and
Nicole Caza
Alexandra Fortin
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal and Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
Nicole Caza*
Affiliation:
Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal and Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal
*
†Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to /La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: Nicole Caza, Ph.D. Centre de recherche Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal 4565 Queen Mary Montréal, QC H3W 1W5 (nicole.caza@umontreal.ca)
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Abstract

Medial temporal lobe (MTL)/memory and frontal lobe (FL)/executive functions indexes are used to measure changes related to cognitive aging. These indexes are based on composite scores of neuropsychological tests validated in English-speaking populations, and their use in aging research is growing in popularity. This study aimed at validating the MTL/memory and FL/executive functions indexes in French-speaking adults. Ninety-eight healthy participants (32 young and 66 older adults) were tested on eight neuropsychological tests, three associated with MTL/memory functions and five associated with FL/executive functions. Factor analysis indicated that residual scores independent of age and associated with MTL/memory functions grouped under one factor, and residual scores associated with FL/executive functions grouped under another factor. Bootstrapping analysis with 1,000 resamples confirmed stability for seven neuropsychological tests. This study provides the first validation of the MTL/memory and FL/executive functions composite scores in French-speaking adults, which may be used to assess cognitive changes in aging research.

Résumé

Des scores composites mesurant les fonctions temporales médianes (FTM)/la mémoire et les fonctions frontales (FF)/exécutives sont utilisés pour indexer les changements cognitifs reliés au vieillissement. L’utilisation de ces scores en recherche gagne en popularité, mais s’appuie essentiellement sur les résultats de tests neuropsychologiques auprès des populations anglophones. Cette étude visait à valider les scores composites des FTM/la mémoire et FF/exécutives auprès d’adultes francophones. Quatre-vingt-dix-huit participants sains (32 jeunes et 66 âgés) ont été évalués à l’aide de trois tests neuropsychologiques associés aux FTM et cinq tests associés aux FF. Une analyse factorielle effectuée sur les scores résiduels indépendants de l’âge indique que les tests associés aux FTM et ceux associés aux FF se regroupent en deux facteurs distincts. Une analyse de type « bootstrapping » impliquant 1 000 rééchantillons indique que sept tests sont stables. Cette étude valide pour la première fois en français, des scores composites mesurant les FTM et FF.

Keywords

agingcognitive abilitycognitive assessmentepisodic memoryfactor structureneuropsychologyvieillissementcapacité cognitiveévaluation cognitivemémoire épisodiquestructure factorielleneuropsychologie
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , March 2014 , pp. 60 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2013 

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Footnotes

*

This article is based on data from a doctoral dissertation. This work was supported by grant no. MOP-68890 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and salary support from the Fonds québécois de la recherche – Santé (15989) to N. Caza, and by a postgraduate scholarship (no. PGSD3-392832-2010) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to A. Fortin. The authors thank Francine Giroux for her help with statistical analyses. Thanks also to Joanie Drapeau and Rosemarie Perrault for helping with neuropsychological testing of participants.

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