Speed and capacity of language processing test: Normative data from an older American community-dwelling sample

Judith A. Saxton, Graham Ratcliff, Hiroko Dodge, Rajesh Pandav, Alan Baddeley, Mary Ganguli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study presents normative data for the Speed and Capacity of Language Processing (SCOLP) test from an older American sample. The SCOLP comprises 2 subtests: Spot-the Word, a lexical decision task, providing an estimate of premorbid intelligence, and Speed of Comprehension, providing a measure of information processing speed. Slowed performance may result from normal aging, brain damage (e.g., head injury), or dementing disorders or may represent the intact performance of someone who always performed at the low end of normal. The SCOLP enables the clinician to differentiate between these possibilities. Adequate age-appropriate norms to differentiate dementia from normal aging do not exist. We present data from 424 older community-dwelling Americans (75-94 years old). The results confirm that information processing speed slows with increasing age. By contrast, increasing age has little effect on lexical decision. Thus, our data suggest that the SCOLP shows promise as a tool to help distinguish between normal aging and the early stages of dementia.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)193-203
Number of pages11
JournalApplied Neuropsychology
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Community-dwelling sample
  • Normative data
  • Older Americans
  • SCOLP

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Speed and capacity of language processing test: Normative data from an older American community-dwelling sample'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this