ABSTRACT

Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) help to evaluate lexical retrieval and the semantic organisation. SVF scores are considered a good predictor of cognitive impairment. This study examines the structure and organisation of semantic networks through a network graph analysis of an SVF task performed by persons with typical aging (TA), Parkinson’s disease (PD), or Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Typically aging participants behave differently than those with PD and AD. Those in the AD group produced fewer words than those in the other two groups, controlling for cognitive impairment based on the Mini-Mental State Exam. The AD group presented a smaller number of nodes and edges than those with PD and TA. The small-worldness index of the PD and AD groups, but not of the TA group, was similar to that of the permuted distribution. We interpret this outcome as the consequence of problems in information transmission between concepts in the semantic network.

摘要

语义语言流畅度 (SVF) 有助于评估词汇检索和语义组织。SVF 评分被认为是认知障碍的良好预测指标。本研究通过对患有典型衰老 (TA)、帕金森病 (PD) 或阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 的人执行的 SVF 任务进行网络图分析来检查语义网络的结构和组织。通常，老年参与者的行为与 PD 和 AD 参与者不同。AD 组中的人比其他两组中的人产生更少的单词，控制基于迷你精神状态检查的认知障碍。AD 组的节点和边数比 PD 和 TA 组少。PD 和 AD 组的小世界指数，但不是 TA 组，与置换分布的相似。