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Monica Rosselli - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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illiteracy the neuropsychology of cognition without reading
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2010Co-Authors: Alfredo Ardila, Esmeralda Matute, Paulo Henrique Ferreira Bertolucci, Lucia Willadino Braga, Alexander Castrocaldas, Ricardo Nitrini, Feggy Ostroskysolis, Tedd Judd, Mary H. Kosmidis, Monica RosselliAbstract:Illiterates represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Written language not only plays a role in mediating cognition, but also extends our knowledge of the world. Two major reasons for illiteracy can be distinguished, social (e.g., absence of schools), and personal (e.g., learning difficulties). Without written language, our knowledge of the external world is partially limited by immediate sensory information and concrete environmental conditions. Literacy is significantly associated with virtually all neuropsychological measures, even though the correlation between education and neuropsychological test scores depends on the specific test. The impact of literacy is reflected in different spheres of cognitive functioning. Learning to read reinforces and modifies certain fundamental abilities, such as verbal and visual memory, phonological awareness, and visuospatial and visuomotor skills. Functional imaging studies are now demonstrating that literacy and education influence the pathways used by the brain for problem-solving. The existence of partially specific neuronal networks as a probable consequence of the literacy level supports the hypothesis that education impacts not only the individual's day-to-day strategies, but also the brain networks. A review of the issues related to dementia in Illiterates is presented, emphasizing that the association between the education level and age-related cognitive changes and education remains controversial. The analysis of the impact of illiteracy on neuropsychological test performance represents a crucial approach to understanding human cognition and its brain organization under normal and abnormal conditions.
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neuropsi a brief neuropsychological test battery in spanish with norms by age and educational level
Journal of The International Neuropsychological Society, 1999Co-Authors: Feggy Ostroskysolis, Alfredo Ardila, Monica RosselliAbstract:The purpose of this research was to develop, standardize, and test the reliability of a short neuropsychological test battery in the Spanish language. This neuropsychological battery was named “NEUROPSI,” and was developed to assess briefly a wide spectrum of cognitive functions, including orientation, attention, memory, language, visuoperceptual abilities, and executive functions. The NEUROPSI includes items that are relevant for Spanish-speaking communities. It can be applied to Illiterates and low educational groups. Administration time is 25 to 30 min. Normative data were collected from 800 monolingual Spanish-speaking individuals, ages 16 to 85 years. Four age groups were used: (1) 16 to 30 years, (2) 31 to 50 years, (3) 51 to 65 years, and (4) 66 to 85 years. Data also are analyzed and presented within 4 different educational levels that were represented in this sample: (1) Illiterates (zero years of school); (2) 1 to 4 years of school; (2) 5 to 9 years of school; and (3) 10 or more years of formal education. The effects of age and education, as well as the factor structure of the NEUROPSI are analyzed. The NEUROPSI may fulfill the need for brief, reliable, and objective evaluation of a broad range of cognitive functions in Spanish-speaking populations. ( JINS, 1999, 5, 413‐ 433.)
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neuropsychological test performance in illiterate subjects
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 1998Co-Authors: Feggy Ostroskysolis, Gabriela Lopezarango, Monica Rosselli, Alfredo Ardila, Victor UrielmendozaAbstract:Abstract The purpose of this study was to further analyze the effects of education across different age ranges on neuropsychological test performance. Two different analyses were performed. The first analysis was conducted in order to pinpoint the impact of school attendance on neuropsychological testing. A group of 64 illiterate normal subjects was selected in the Mexican Republic. Their performance was compared with two barely schooled control groups (1–2 and 3–4 years of schooling). The subjects’ ages ranged from 16 to 85 years. In the second analysis, the illiterate subjects were further matched by age and sex with individuals with 1 to 4, 5 to 9, and 10 to 19 years of formal education. The Spanish version of the NEUROPSI neuropsychological test battery (Ostrosky, Ardila, & Rosselli, 1997) was used. Results indicated a significant educational effect on most of the tests. Largest educational effect was noted in constructional abilities (copying of a figure), language (comprehension), phonological verbal fluency, and conceptual functions (similarities, calculation abilities, and sequences). Aging effect was noted in visuoperceptual (visual detection) and memory scores. In the first subject sample, it was evident that, despite using such limited educational range (from 0–4 years of formal education), and such a wide age range (from 16–85 years), schooling represented a stronger variable than age. It is proposed that education effect on neuropsychological test performance represents a negatively accelerated curve, tending to a plateau.
Falk Huettig - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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does learning to read change the perception of speech evidence from perceptual recalibration of speech sounds in adult Illiterates semi literates and literates of tamil
bioRxiv, 2021Co-Authors: Holger Mitterer, Falk Huettig, Jeroen Van Paridon, Mrudula ArunkumarAbstract:How do different levels of representation interact in the mind? Key evidence for answering this question comes from experimental work that investigates the influence of knowledge of written language on spoken language processing. Here we tested whether learning orthographic representations (through reading) influences pre-lexical phonological representations in spoken-word recognition using a perceptual learning paradigm. Perceptual learning is well suited to reveal differences in pre-lexical representations that might be caused by learning to read because it requires the functional use of pre-lexical representations in order to generalize a learning experience. In a large-scale behavioural study in Chennai, India, 97 native speakers of Tamil with varying reading experience (from completely illiterate to highly literate) participated. In marked contrast to their performance in other cognitive tasks, even completely illiterate participants showed a perceptual learning effect that was not moderated by reading experience. This finding suggests that pre-lexical phonological representations are not substantially changed by learning to read and thus poses important constraints for the debate about the degree of interactivity between different levels of representations during human information processing.
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Functional illiteracy and developmental dyslexia: looking for common roots. A systematic review
Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science, 2021Co-Authors: Reka Vagvolgyi, Falk Huettig, Tânia Fernandes, Kirstin Bergström, Aleksandar Bulajić, Maria Klatte, Michael Grosche, Jascha Rüsseler, Thomas LachmannAbstract:A considerable amount of the population in more economically developed countries are functionally illiterate (i.e., low literate). Despite some years of schooling and basic reading skills, these individuals cannot properly read and write and, as a consequence have problems to understand even short texts. An often-discussed approach (Greenberg et al. 1997 ) assumes weak phonological processing skills coupled with untreated developmental dyslexia as possible causes of functional illiteracy. Although there is some data suggesting commonalities between low literacy and developmental dyslexia, it is still not clear, whether these reflect shared consequences (i.e., cognitive and behavioral profile) or shared causes. The present systematic review aims at exploring the similarities and differences identified in empirical studies investigating both functional illiterate and developmental dyslexic samples. Nine electronic databases were searched in order to identify all quantitative studies published in English or German. Although a broad search strategy and few limitations were applied, only 5 studies have been identified adequate from the resulting 9269 references. The results point to the lack of studies directly comparing functional illiterate with developmental dyslexic samples. Moreover, a huge variance has been identified between the studies in how they approached the concept of functional illiteracy, particularly when it came to critical categories such the applied definition, terminology, criteria for inclusion in the sample, research focus, and outcome measures. The available data highlight the need for more direct comparisons in order to understand what extent functional illiteracy and dyslexia share common characteristics.
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learning to read facilitates the retrieval of phonological representations in rapid automatized naming evidence from unschooled illiterate ex illiterate and schooled literate adults
Developmental Science, 2019Co-Authors: Susana Araujo, Tânia Fernandes, Falk HuettigAbstract:Rapid automatized naming (RAN) of visual items is a powerful predictor of reading skills. However, the direction and locus of the association between RAN and reading is still largely unclear. Here, we investigated whether literacy acquisition directly bolsters RAN efficiency for objects, adopting a strong methodological design, by testing three groups of adults matched in age and socioeconomic variables, who differed only in literacy/schooling: unschooled illiterate and ex-illiterate, and schooled literate adults. To investigate in a fine-grained manner whether and how literacy facilitates lexical retrieval, we orthogonally manipulated the word-form frequency (high vs. low) and phonological neighborhood density (dense vs. spare) of the objects' names. We observed that literacy experience enhances the automaticity with which visual stimuli (e.g., objects) can be retrieved and named: relative to readers (ex-illiterate and literate), illiterate adults performed worse on RAN. Crucially, the group difference was exacerbated and significant only for those items that were of low frequency and from sparse neighborhoods. These results thus suggest that, regardless of schooling and age at which literacy was acquired, learning to read facilitates the access to and retrieval of phonological representations, especially of difficult lexical items.
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distinguishing cause from effect many deficits associated with developmental dyslexia may be a consequence of reduced and suboptimal reading experience
Language cognition and neuroscience, 2018Co-Authors: Falk Huettig, Alexandra Reis, Karl Magnus Petersson, Thomas LachmannAbstract:ABSTRACTThe cause of developmental dyslexia is still unknown despite decades of intense research. Many causal explanations have been proposed, based on the range of impairments displayed by affected individuals. Here we draw attention to the fact that many of these impairments are also shown by illiterate individuals who have not received any or very little reading instruction. We suggest that this fact may not be coincidental and that the performance differences of both Illiterates and individuals with dyslexia compared to literate controls are, to a substantial extent, secondary consequences of either reduced or suboptimal reading experience or a combination of both. The search for the primary causes of reading impairments will make progress if the consequences of quantitative and qualitative differences in reading experience are better taken into account and not mistaken for the causes of reading disorders. We close by providing four recommendations for future research.
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learning to read alters cortico subcortical cross talk in the visual system of Illiterates
Science Advances, 2017Co-Authors: Michael A Skeide, Uttam Kumar, Ramesh Kumar Mishra, Viveka Nand Tripathi, Anupam Guleria, Jay Prakash Singh, Frank Eisner, Falk HuettigAbstract:Learning to read is known to result in a reorganization of the developing cerebral cortex. In this longitudinal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study in illiterate adults, we show that only 6 months of literacy training can lead to neuroplastic changes in the mature brain. We observed that literacy-induced neuroplasticity is not confined to the cortex but increases the functional connectivity between the occipital lobe and subcortical areas in the midbrain and the thalamus. Individual rates of connectivity increase were significantly related to the individual decoding skill gains. These findings crucially complement current neurobiological concepts of normal and impaired literacy acquisition.
Alexandra Reis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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distinguishing cause from effect many deficits associated with developmental dyslexia may be a consequence of reduced and suboptimal reading experience
Language cognition and neuroscience, 2018Co-Authors: Falk Huettig, Alexandra Reis, Karl Magnus Petersson, Thomas LachmannAbstract:ABSTRACTThe cause of developmental dyslexia is still unknown despite decades of intense research. Many causal explanations have been proposed, based on the range of impairments displayed by affected individuals. Here we draw attention to the fact that many of these impairments are also shown by illiterate individuals who have not received any or very little reading instruction. We suggest that this fact may not be coincidental and that the performance differences of both Illiterates and individuals with dyslexia compared to literate controls are, to a substantial extent, secondary consequences of either reduced or suboptimal reading experience or a combination of both. The search for the primary causes of reading impairments will make progress if the consequences of quantitative and qualitative differences in reading experience are better taken into account and not mistaken for the causes of reading disorders. We close by providing four recommendations for future research.
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literacy a cultural influence on functional left right differences in the inferior parietal cortex
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2007Co-Authors: Karl Magnus Petersson, Alexandre Castrocaldas, Alexandra Reis, Martin Ingvar, Carla SilvaAbstract:The current understanding of hemispheric interaction is limited. Functional hemispheric specialization is likely to depend on both genetic and environmental factors. In the present study we investigated the importance of one factor, literacy, for the functional lateralization in the inferior parietal cortex in two independent samples of literate and illiterate subjects. The results show that the illiterate group are consistently more right-lateralized than their literate controls. In contrast, the two groups showed a similar degree of left‐right differences in early speech-related regions of the superior temporal cortex. These results provide evidence suggesting that a cultural factor, literacy, influences the functional hemispheric balance in reading and verbal working memory-related regions. In a third sample, we investigated grey and white matter with voxel-based morphometry. The results showed differences between literacy groups in white matter intensities related to the mid-body region of the corpus callosum and the inferior parietal and parietotemporal regions (literate > illiterate). There were no corresponding differences in the grey matter. This suggests that the influence of literacy on brain structure related to reading and verbal working memory is affecting large-scale brain connectivity more than grey matter per se.
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influence of learning to read and write on the morphology of the corpus callosum
European Journal of Neurology, 1999Co-Authors: Alexandre Castrocaldas, Alexandra Reis, Cavaleiro P Miranda, I Carmo, F Leote, Claudia Ribeiro, E DuclasoaresAbstract:Variations in the individual anatomy of the corpus callosum have been reported in several conditions. There seem to be genetic influencing factors, but it is impossible to rule out some environmental ones. This study focuses on the question of the environmental factors, using formal learning to read and write as the main difference in the groups to be compared. Based on magnetic resonance imaging sagital images, the contour of the corpus callosum (CC) of 41 carefully selected women (18 illiterate and 23 literate) was digitized. The comparison between the two groups showed a small difference in the region of the CC where parietal fibres are thought to cross. This region is thinner in illiterate subjects. As illiteracy in this group is the result of social constraints, and the two groups that were compared are well matched for other cultural and pragmatic aspects than literacy, the results are interpreted as showing the possible influence of formal learning to read and write, on the biological development of the brain.
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the illiterate brain learning to read and write during childhood influences the functional organization of the adult brain
Brain, 1998Co-Authors: Alexandre Castrocaldas, Alexandra Reis, Karl Magnus Petersson, Sharon Stoneelander, Martin IngvarAbstract:Learning a specific skill during childhood may partly determine the functional organization of the adult brain. This hypothesis led us to study oral language processing in illiterate subjects who, for social reasons, had never entered school and had no knowledge of reading or writing. In a brain activation study using PET and statistical parametric mapping, we compared word and pseudoword repetition in literate and illiterate subjects. Our study confirms behavioural evidence of different phonological processing in illiterate subjects. During repetition of real words, the two groups performed similarly and activated similar areas of the brain. In contrast, illiterate subjects had more difficulty repeating pseudowords correctly and did not activate the same neural structures as literates. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that learning the written form of language (orthography) interacts with the function of oral language. Our results indicate that learning to read and write during childhood influences the functional organization of the adult human brain.
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illiteracy a cause for biased cognitive development
Journal of The International Neuropsychological Society, 1997Co-Authors: Alexandra Reis, Alexandre CastrocaldasAbstract:Learning to read and write generates new rules within the language processing systems. These new rules significantly change the manner in which some operations are performed. This finding was studied, by comparing the performance of literate and illiterate persons in several tasks. It was found that illiterate individuals (1) had difficulties in repeating pseudowords, (2) were worse at memorizing pairs of phonologically related words compared to pairs of semantically related words, and (3) were unable to generate words according to a formal criterion. Illiterate persons use strategies that are good for semantic processing, but inadequate for phonological analysis, while literate individuals are able to use several parallel running strategies. ( JINS, 1997, 3, 444‐450.)
Feggy Ostroskysolis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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illiteracy the neuropsychology of cognition without reading
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2010Co-Authors: Alfredo Ardila, Esmeralda Matute, Paulo Henrique Ferreira Bertolucci, Lucia Willadino Braga, Alexander Castrocaldas, Ricardo Nitrini, Feggy Ostroskysolis, Tedd Judd, Mary H. Kosmidis, Monica RosselliAbstract:Illiterates represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Written language not only plays a role in mediating cognition, but also extends our knowledge of the world. Two major reasons for illiteracy can be distinguished, social (e.g., absence of schools), and personal (e.g., learning difficulties). Without written language, our knowledge of the external world is partially limited by immediate sensory information and concrete environmental conditions. Literacy is significantly associated with virtually all neuropsychological measures, even though the correlation between education and neuropsychological test scores depends on the specific test. The impact of literacy is reflected in different spheres of cognitive functioning. Learning to read reinforces and modifies certain fundamental abilities, such as verbal and visual memory, phonological awareness, and visuospatial and visuomotor skills. Functional imaging studies are now demonstrating that literacy and education influence the pathways used by the brain for problem-solving. The existence of partially specific neuronal networks as a probable consequence of the literacy level supports the hypothesis that education impacts not only the individual's day-to-day strategies, but also the brain networks. A review of the issues related to dementia in Illiterates is presented, emphasizing that the association between the education level and age-related cognitive changes and education remains controversial. The analysis of the impact of illiteracy on neuropsychological test performance represents a crucial approach to understanding human cognition and its brain organization under normal and abnormal conditions.
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effects of culture and education on neuropsychological testing a preliminary study with indigenous and nonindigenous population
Applied Neuropsychology, 2004Co-Authors: Feggy Ostroskysolis, M Ramirez, Alfredo ArdilaAbstract:We analyzed the influence of education and of culture on the neuropsychological profile of an indigenous and a nonindigenous population. The sample included 27 individuals divided into four groups: (a) seven illiterate Maya indigenous participants, (b) six illiterate Pame indigenous participants, (c) seven nonindigenous participants with no education, and (d) seven Maya indigenous participants with 1 to 4 years of education . A brief neuropsychological test battery developed and standardized in Mexico was individually administered. Results demonstrated differential effects for both variables. Both groups of indigenous participants (Maya and Pame) obtained higher scores in visuospatial tasks, and the level of education had significant effects on working and verbal memory. Our data suggested that culture dictates what it is important for survival and that education could be considered as a type of subculture that facilitates the development of certain skills.
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neuropsi a brief neuropsychological test battery in spanish with norms by age and educational level
Journal of The International Neuropsychological Society, 1999Co-Authors: Feggy Ostroskysolis, Alfredo Ardila, Monica RosselliAbstract:The purpose of this research was to develop, standardize, and test the reliability of a short neuropsychological test battery in the Spanish language. This neuropsychological battery was named “NEUROPSI,” and was developed to assess briefly a wide spectrum of cognitive functions, including orientation, attention, memory, language, visuoperceptual abilities, and executive functions. The NEUROPSI includes items that are relevant for Spanish-speaking communities. It can be applied to Illiterates and low educational groups. Administration time is 25 to 30 min. Normative data were collected from 800 monolingual Spanish-speaking individuals, ages 16 to 85 years. Four age groups were used: (1) 16 to 30 years, (2) 31 to 50 years, (3) 51 to 65 years, and (4) 66 to 85 years. Data also are analyzed and presented within 4 different educational levels that were represented in this sample: (1) Illiterates (zero years of school); (2) 1 to 4 years of school; (2) 5 to 9 years of school; and (3) 10 or more years of formal education. The effects of age and education, as well as the factor structure of the NEUROPSI are analyzed. The NEUROPSI may fulfill the need for brief, reliable, and objective evaluation of a broad range of cognitive functions in Spanish-speaking populations. ( JINS, 1999, 5, 413‐ 433.)
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neuropsychological test performance in illiterate subjects
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 1998Co-Authors: Feggy Ostroskysolis, Gabriela Lopezarango, Monica Rosselli, Alfredo Ardila, Victor UrielmendozaAbstract:Abstract The purpose of this study was to further analyze the effects of education across different age ranges on neuropsychological test performance. Two different analyses were performed. The first analysis was conducted in order to pinpoint the impact of school attendance on neuropsychological testing. A group of 64 illiterate normal subjects was selected in the Mexican Republic. Their performance was compared with two barely schooled control groups (1–2 and 3–4 years of schooling). The subjects’ ages ranged from 16 to 85 years. In the second analysis, the illiterate subjects were further matched by age and sex with individuals with 1 to 4, 5 to 9, and 10 to 19 years of formal education. The Spanish version of the NEUROPSI neuropsychological test battery (Ostrosky, Ardila, & Rosselli, 1997) was used. Results indicated a significant educational effect on most of the tests. Largest educational effect was noted in constructional abilities (copying of a figure), language (comprehension), phonological verbal fluency, and conceptual functions (similarities, calculation abilities, and sequences). Aging effect was noted in visuoperceptual (visual detection) and memory scores. In the first subject sample, it was evident that, despite using such limited educational range (from 0–4 years of formal education), and such a wide age range (from 16–85 years), schooling represented a stronger variable than age. It is proposed that education effect on neuropsychological test performance represents a negatively accelerated curve, tending to a plateau.
Ricardo Nitrini - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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decision making in cognitively unimpaired illiterate and low educated older women results on the iowa gambling task
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2016Co-Authors: Luciana Cassimiro, Ricardo Nitrini, Daniel Fuentes, Monica Sanches YassudaAbstract:OBJECTIVE This study investigated the pattern of decision-making (DM) on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) in a sample of Portuguese speaking healthy older women in Brazil with limited education: illiterate, 1-2 years, and 3-4 years of schooling. METHODS Around 164 non-demented community-dwelling women participated in the study. Among them 60 were illiterate, 52 had 1-2 years of schooling and 52 had 3-4 years of schooling. Participants completed the instruments: Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB), Mini-Mental State Examination, Verbal Fluency Test (animal category), Clock Drawing Test, Geriatric Depression Scale, Geriatric Anxiety Inventory, Digit Span Forward and Backward, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and IGT. RESULTS The three education groups were equivalent as to age, number of diseases, medications taken daily, depression, and anxiety symptoms. In the IGT the literate older adults made more advantageous choices than the illiterate and IGT performance improved linearly with higher levels of education. IGT performance correlated significantly with all cognitive test scores with the exception of the memorization of the pictures on the BCSB. CONCLUSION The results suggested that education influences IGT performance, with worse scores among the illiterate. Results may be used by clinicians to interpret IGT performance among seniors with low literacy levels.
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illiteracy the neuropsychology of cognition without reading
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 2010Co-Authors: Alfredo Ardila, Esmeralda Matute, Paulo Henrique Ferreira Bertolucci, Lucia Willadino Braga, Alexander Castrocaldas, Ricardo Nitrini, Feggy Ostroskysolis, Tedd Judd, Mary H. Kosmidis, Monica RosselliAbstract:Illiterates represent a significant proportion of the world's population. Written language not only plays a role in mediating cognition, but also extends our knowledge of the world. Two major reasons for illiteracy can be distinguished, social (e.g., absence of schools), and personal (e.g., learning difficulties). Without written language, our knowledge of the external world is partially limited by immediate sensory information and concrete environmental conditions. Literacy is significantly associated with virtually all neuropsychological measures, even though the correlation between education and neuropsychological test scores depends on the specific test. The impact of literacy is reflected in different spheres of cognitive functioning. Learning to read reinforces and modifies certain fundamental abilities, such as verbal and visual memory, phonological awareness, and visuospatial and visuomotor skills. Functional imaging studies are now demonstrating that literacy and education influence the pathways used by the brain for problem-solving. The existence of partially specific neuronal networks as a probable consequence of the literacy level supports the hypothesis that education impacts not only the individual's day-to-day strategies, but also the brain networks. A review of the issues related to dementia in Illiterates is presented, emphasizing that the association between the education level and age-related cognitive changes and education remains controversial. The analysis of the impact of illiteracy on neuropsychological test performance represents a crucial approach to understanding human cognition and its brain organization under normal and abnormal conditions.
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mini mental state examination among lower educational levels and Illiterates transcultural evaluation
Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 2010Co-Authors: Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki, Ricardo NitriniAbstract:Cognitive performance among Illiterates and low educational levels is poorer than that observed in individuals with greater schooling. This difference can be a confounding factor in reaching an accurate diagnosis of cognitive impairment. In addition, there is great heterogeneity in performance among Illiterates, probably due to different environmental demands and sociocultural backgrounds. Many reports have described the influence of education on neuropsychological measures and screening tests such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Objectives: To analyze performance in two samples with the same educational level, but different social and cultural backgrounds. Methods: Subjects from two different locations in Brazil (rural sample from Northern region and urban sample residing in the largest city of the Southeastern region) were matched for age and education, and submitted to the MMSE. Results: Significant differences between the groups were found in total scores on the MMSE and in temporal orientation and serial-sevens sub-items for which the urban sample performed best but analysis of Illiterates alone yielded the same results, except for the copying pentagons task which was performed better by the rural sample. Conclusions: Cultural and social backgrounds, as well as demands from the environment, influence results of screening tests. Factors other than education must be taken
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performance of illiterate and literate nondemented elderly subjects in two tests of long term memory
Journal of The International Neuropsychological Society, 2004Co-Authors: Ricardo Nitrini, Paulo Caramelli, Emilio Herrera, Claudia Sellitto Porto, Helenice Charchatfichman, Maria Teresa Carthery, Leonel T Takada, Edson P LimaAbstract:Cognitive evaluation in developing countries is a difficult undertaking due to low levels of schooling and particularly the illiteracy still frequent in the elderly. This study was part of the epidemiologic evaluation of dementia in Catanduva, Brazil, and had the objective of comparing the performance of illiterate and literate nondemented elderly individuals in 2 tests of long-term memory-the delayed recall of a word list from the CERAD and the delayed recall of common objects presented as simple drawings from the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB). Fifty-one elderly subjects (23 Illiterates) were evaluated, and the performance of the Illiterates and literates differed in the CERAD memory test, but not in the BCSB memory test. This test may be more suitable for the assessment of long-term memory in populations with a high frequency of Illiterates, and therefore might prove to be a useful screening tool for the diagnosis of dementia.
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Mini- Mental State Examination among lower educationl levels and Illiterates: transcultural evaluation
Associação Neurologia Cognitiva e do Comportamento, 2024Co-Authors: Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki, Ricardo NitriniAbstract:Abstract Cognitive performance among Illiterates and low educational levels is poorer than that observed in individuals with greater schooling. This difference can be a confounding factor in reaching an accurate diagnosis of cognitive impairment. In addition, there is great heterogeneity in performance among Illiterates, probably due to different environmental demands and sociocultural backgrounds. Many reports have described the influence of education on neuropsychological measures and screening tests such as the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Objectives: To analyze performance in two samples with the same educational level, but different social and cultural backgrounds. Methods: Subjects from two different locations in Brazil (rural sample from Northern region and urban sample residing in the largest city of the Southeastern region) were matched for age and education, and submitted to the MMSE. Results: Significant differences between the groups were found in total scores on the MMSE and in temporal orientation and serial-sevens sub-items for which the urban sample performed best but analysis of Illiterates alone yielded the same results, except for the copying pentagons task which was performed better by the rural sample. Conclusions: Cultural and social backgrounds, as well as demands from the environment, influence results of screening tests. Factors other than education must be taken into account when analyzing tests
