Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T18:06:34.716Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Effects of Second-Language Acquisition on Verbal Fluency Among Elderly Israelis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of age of second-language acquisition (Hebrew) on verbal fluency in a random sample of 196 elderly Israelis from four distinct ethnic groups. Using conventional statistics, it was shown that phonemic fluency, particularly switching, is associated with education and the age of Hebrew acquisition, while semantic fluency, particularly clustering, is associated with age. Ethnic differences were not significant after controlling for the age of Hebrew acquisition and education. Additional analyses show that the tendency of subjects to use borrowed, non-Hebrew words on the phonemic fluency task was associated with lower total scores on this task and later age of Hebrew acquisition. In contrast, the tendency to use non-Hebrew words on the semantic fluency task was associated with age and higher total scores. These findings are discussed with regard to recent functional imaging studies of bilingual subjects. Such findings indicate that native and second languages form distinct areas of activation in the dominant anterior language area, an area often associated with phonemic processing and switching, whereas an overlap of activation of various languages has been demonstrated within the posterior language areas, those that are often associated with semantic processing.

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2002

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Thurstone, LL, Thurston, TG. Primary Mental Abilities. Revised ed. Chicago, Ill: Science Research Associates; 1962.Google Scholar
2.Benton, AL. Differential behavioral effects in frontal lobe disease. Neuropsychologia. 1968;6:5360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Rosen, WG. Verbal fluency in aging and dementia. J Clin Neuropsychol. 1980;2:135146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Barr, A, Brandt, J. Word-list generation deficits in dementia. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1996;18;810822.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Benton, AL, Hamsher, K, Sivan, AB. Multilingual Aphasia Examination. 3rd ed. Iowa City, Iowa: AJA Associates; 1983Google Scholar
6.Milner, B. Effects of different brain lesions on card sorting. Arch Neurol. 1964;9:90100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Parks, RW, Loewenstein, DA, Dodrill, KL, et al., Cerebral metabolic effects of a verbal fluency test: a PET scan study. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1988;10:565575.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Perret, E. The left frontal lobe of man and the suppression of habitual responses in verbal categorical behavior. Neuropsychologia. 1974;12:323333.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Butters, N, Salmon, DP, Granholm, E, Heindel, W, Lyon, L. Neuropsychological differentiation of amnesic and dementing states. In: Stahl, SM, Iversen, SD, eds. Cognitive Neurochemistry. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press; 1987:320.Google Scholar
10.Monsch, AU, Bondi, MW, Butters, N, Salmon, DP. Comparisons of verbal fluency tasks in the detection of dementia of the Alzheimer type. Arch Neurol. 1992;49:12531258.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Gourovitch, ML, Goldberg, TE, Weinberger, DR. Verbal fluency deficits in patients with schizophrenia: semantic fluency is differentially impaired as compared with phonologic fluency. Neuropsychology. 1996;10:573577.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Corcoran, R, Upton, D. A role for the hippocampus in card sorting? Cortex. 1993;29:293304.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Joanette, Y, Goulet, P. Criterion-specific reduction of verbal fluency in right brain-damaged right-handers. Neuropsychologia. 1986;24:875879.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Laine, M. Correlates of word fluency performance. In: Koivuselka-Sallinen, HJ, Sarajarvi, V, eds. Studies in Languages. Joensuu, Finland: University of Joensuu; 1988.Google Scholar
15.Gruenewald, PJ, Lokhead, GR. The free recall of category examples. J Exp Psych [Hum Learn]. 1980;6:225240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Wixted, JT, Rohrer, D. Analyzing the dynamics of free recall: an integrative review of the empirical literature. Psychon Bull Rev. 1994;1:89106.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Troyer, AK, Moscovitch, M, Winocur, G. Clustering and switching as two components of verbal fluency: evidence from younger and older healthy adults. Neuropsychology. 1997;11:138146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Troyer, AK, Moscovich, M, Winocur, G, Alexander, MP, Stuss, D. Clustering and switching as two components of verbal fluency: evidence from younger and older healthy adults. Neuropsychologia. 1998;11:138146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Robert, PH, Lafont, V, Medecin, I, et al.Clustering and switching strategies in verbal fluency tasks: comparison between schizophrenics and healthy adults. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 1998;4:539546.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Rich, JB, Troyer, AK, Bylsma, FW, Brandt, J. Longitudinal analysis of phonemic clustering and switching during word-list generation in Huntington's disease. Neuropsychology. 1999;13:525531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Kempler, D, Teng, E, Dick, M, Taussig, IM, Davis, DS. The effects of age, education and ethnicity on verbal fluency. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 1998;4:531538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Selfridge, MT, Zalewski, C, Aboudarham, J. The relationship between ethnicity and word fluency. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 1998;13:319325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Annett, M. The binomial distribution of right, mixed, and left handedness. Q J Exp Psychol. 1967;19:327333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Folstein, MF, Folstein, SE, Mchugh, PR. “Mini-Mental State”. A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975;12:189198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Bordowski, JG, Benton, AL, Spreen, O. Word fluency and brain damage. Neuropsychologia. 1967;5:135140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Newcombe, F. Missile Wounds of the Brain. London, England: Oxford University Press; 1969.Google Scholar
27.Lezak, M. Neuropsychological Assessment. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1995.Google Scholar
28.Crossley, M, D'Arey, C, Rawson, SB. Letter and category fluency in community-dwelling Canadian seniors: a comparison of normal participants to those with dementia of the Alzheimer or vascular type. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1997;19:5262.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29.Bolla, KI, Lindgren, KN, Bonaccorsy, C, Bleecker, ML. Predictors of verbal fluency (FAS) in the healthy elderly. 1990;46:623628.Google ScholarPubMed
30.Boon, KB, Miller, BL, Lesser, IM, Hill, E, D'Elia, L. Performance on frontal lobe tests in healthy, older individuals. Dev Neuropsychol. 1990;6:215223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Mittenberg, W, Seidenberg, M, O'Leary, DS, DiGiuho, DV. Changes in cerebral functioning associated with normal aging. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1989;11:918932.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Tomer, R, Levin, BE. Differential effects of aging on two verbal fluency tasks. Percept Mot Skills. 1993;76:465466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
33.Whelihan, WM, Lesher, EL. Neuropsychological changes in frontal functions with aging. Dev Neuropsychol. 1985;1:371380.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Kim, HS, Relkin, NR, Lee, KM, Hirsch, J. Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages. Nature. 1997;388:171174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
35.Perani, D, Paulesu, E, Galles, , et al.The bilingual brain: proficiency and age of acquisition of the second language. Brain. 1998;121:18411852.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Illes, J, Francis, WS, Desmond, JE, et al.Convergent cortical representation of semantic processing in bilinguals. Brain Lang. 1999;70:347363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37.Chee, MWL, Tan, EW, Thiel, T. Mandarin and English single word processing studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging. J Neurosci. 1999;19:30503056.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38.Johnson, JS, Newport, EL. 1989.Critical period effects in second language learning: the influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognit Psychol. 1989;21:6099.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.Krashen, S, Long, M, Scarcella, R. Age, rate, and eventual attainment in second language acquisition. In: Krashen, S, Scarcella, RM. Long, M, eds. Child-Adult Differences in Second Language Acquisition. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House; 1982:573582.Google Scholar
40.Ribot, T. Les Maladies de la Memoire. Paris, France: Libraire Germer Bailliere; 1883.Google Scholar