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Semin Speech Lang 2004; 25(4): 335-347
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-837246
Copyright © 2004 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Verbal Perseveration in Individuals with Alzheimer's Disease

Kathryn A. Bayles1 , Cheryl K. Tomoeda1 , Patrick E. McKnight2 , Nancy Helm-Estabrooks3 , Josh N. Hawley4
  • 1Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences
  • 2Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
  • 3Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
  • 4ProCare3, Omaha, Nebraska
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Publication History

Publication Date:
15 December 2004 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Perseveration has been described as a reliable indicator of disturbed brain function and is a common characteristic of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). This article will begin with a review of recent theories that account for the phenomenon of perseveration, and data from a National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)-supported study further delineate the nature of perseveration among individuals with AD. The study investigated the frequency of verbal perseveration in individuals with AD in relation to task type, mental status, and performance on attention and memory tests. Thirty Alzheimer's patients and 40 healthy elders were given a confrontation naming, generative naming, and picture description test. Perseveration was defined as a proportion of total number of responses. Data analysis revealed that individuals with AD perseverated more than normal elders did, but variability was high. Generative naming elicited more perseveration than either confrontation naming or picture description did. When overall frequency of perseveration was correlated with mental status and performance on attention and memory tests, seemingly paradoxical results were obtained, probably because the unique cognitive demands of each language test affected the probability of perseveration differently. Nonparadoxical, strong positive correlations were obtained, however, between language test scores and performance on tests of attention, memory and mental status.

KEYWORDS

Perseveration - Alzheimer's disease - mental status - memory

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Kathryn A BaylesPh.D. 

Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Arizona

P.O. Box 210071, Tucson

AZ 85721-0071

Email: bayles@email.arizona.edu