PUPIL DILATION HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE EFFORT REQUIRED TO PERFORM VARIOUS COGNITIVE TASKS. AT THE LEXICAL LEVEL, SOME STUDIES SUGGEST THAT THIS NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL MEASURE WOULD PROVIDE OBJECTIVE, REAL-TIME INFORMATION DURING WORD PROCESSING AND LEXICAL ACCESS. HOWEVER, DUE TO THE SCARCITY AND INCIPIENT ADVANCEMENT OF THIS LINE OF RESEARCH, ITS APPLICABILITY, USE, AND SENSITIVITY ARE NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR. THIS SCOPING REVIEW AIMS TO DETERMINE THE APPLICABILITY AND USEFULNESS OF PUPILLOMETRY IN THE STUDY OF LEXICAL ACCESS BY PROVIDING AN UP-TO-DATE OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH IN THIS AREA. FOLLOWING THE PRISMA PROTOCOL,16 ARTICLES WERE INCLUDED IN THIS REVIEW. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT PUPILLOMETRY IS A HIGHLY APPLICABLE, USEFUL, AND SENSITIVE METHOD FOR ASSESSING LEXICAL SKILLS OF WORD RECOGNITION, WORD RETRIEVAL, AND SEMANTIC ACTIVATION. MOREOVER, IT EASILY FITS INTO TRADITIONAL RESEARCH PARADIGMS AND METHODS IN THE FIELD. BECAUSE IT IS A NON-INVASIVE, OBJECTIVE, AND AUTOMATED PROCEDURE, IT CAN BE APPLIED TO ANY POPULATION OR AGE GROUP. HOWEVER, THE EMERGING DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SPECIFIC AREA OF RESEARCH AND THE METHODOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OBSERVED IN THE INCLUDED STUDIES DO NOT YET ALLOW FOR DEFINITIVE CONCLUSIONS IN THIS AREA, WHICH IN TURN DOES NOT ALLOW FOR META-ANALYSES OR FULLY CONCLUSIVE STATEMENTS ABOUT WHAT THE PUPIL RESPONSE ACTUALLY REFLECTS WHEN PROCESSING WORDS. STANDARDIZED PUPILLARY RECORDING AND ANALYSIS METHODS NEED TO BE DEFINED TO GENERATE MORE ACCURATE, REPLICABLE RESEARCH DESIGNS WITH MORE RELIABLE RESULTS TO STRENGTHEN THIS LINE OF RESEARCH.

DYSARTHRIA ASSESSMENT TOOLS SHOULD BE TAILORED TO THE SPEECH CHARACTERISTICS AND IMPAIRMENTS. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TOOLS IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, MAINLY PERCEPTUAL AND MOTOR. HOWEVER, THIS SPEECH IMPAIRMENT IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOSS OF FUNCTIONALITY, LIMITATIONS IN ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING, AND RESTRICTION IN SOCIAL AND OCCUPATIONAL PARTICIPATION. THIS RESEARCH COMPARES THE ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES OF SEVERAL SPEECH ASSESSMENT TOOLS COMMONLY USED IN CLINICAL PRACTICE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DYSARTHRIA IN CHILE AND WORLDWIDE. METHODS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS WAS CONDUCTED ON VARIOUS SPEECH ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH DYSARTHRIA. A PURPOSIVE SAMPLING WAS USED BASED ON THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY ALTAHER ET AL. RESULTS: THE CONTENT ANALYSIS SHOWS THAT ALL TOOLS HAVE PROCEDURES FOR ASSESSING SPEECH SUBSYSTEMS AND NON-SPEECH TASKS. HOWEVER, THE ASSESSMENT OF THE FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SPEECH, MAINLY CONSIDERING INTELLIGIBILITY, IS SCARCELY ADDRESSED. SOME TOOLS INCORPORATE TASKS THAT ASSESS DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF SPEECH, HIGHLIGHTING THAT THIS COMPLEMENTARY INFORMATION CAN BE RELEVANT TO THE DIAGNOSTIC PROCESS. CONCLUSIONS: THERE IS A LACK OF A STANDARDIZED SPEECH ASSESSMENT AND THE NEED TO INCORPORATE TASKS THAT ALLOW FOR FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT TO UNDERSTAND THE PERFORMANCE OF SUBSYSTEMS AND THE NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR INTERLOCUTORS TO SET BASELINES.

AUNQUE EXISTE CONSENSO EN QUE LA ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA DESEMPEÑA UN PAPEL FUNDAMENTAL EN EL ENVEJECIMIENTO EXITOSO, ES NECESARIO INVESTIGAR EL IMPACTO REAL QUE TIENE EN EL CEREBRO. OBJETIVO: EL OBJETIVO DE ESTE ESTUDIO ES IDENTIFICAR LOS EFECTOS DE LA ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA EN EL ENVEJECIMIENTO CEREBRAL SALUDABLE, ANALIZANDO LOS CAMBIOS ESTRUCTURALES Y/O FUNCIONALES QUE PUEDE GENERAR EN EL CEREBRO. ADEMÁS, SE PRETENDE DETERMINAR SI LA PARTICIPACIÓN REGULAR EN ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA A LO LARGO DE TODA LA VIDA ES UN FACTOR PREDICTIVO DE UN ENVEJECIMIENTO CEREBRAL SALUDABLE. MÉTODOS: SE LLEVÓ A CABO UNA REVISIÓN SISTEMÁTICA EN TRES BASES DE DATOS: WEB OF SCIENCE, SCOPUS Y PUBMED, SIGUIENDO LAS DIRECTRICES PRISMA-P. SE INCLUYERON ARTÍCULOS PUBLICADOS ENTRE 2010 Y 2023. SE CONSIDERARON ESTUDIOS EXPERIMENTALES, CUASI-EXPERIMENTALES, ENSAYOS CLÍNICOS Y ESTUDIOS DE COHORTE. RESULTADOS: SE IDENTIFICARON UN TOTAL DE 63 ARTÍCULOS, DE LOS CUALES SE INCLUYERON 17 EN EL ANÁLISIS. DE ESTOS, 14 INFORMARON SOBRE EFECTOS SIGNIFICATIVOS DE LA ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA EN EL ENVEJECIMIENTO CEREBRAL SALUDABLE, DE LOS CUALES 11 EVIDENCIARON BENEFICIOS ESTRUCTURALES, 2 FUNCIONALES Y 1 MIXTO. ADEMÁS, 13 ARTÍCULOS DEMOSTRARON QUE PARTICIPAR EN ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA A LO LARGO DE LA VIDA FAVORECE EL ENVEJECIMIENTO COGNITIVO. CONCLUSIONES: EL DESARROLLO DE ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA A LO LARGO DE TODA LA VIDA CONLLEVA BENEFICIOS ESTRUCTURALES Y/O FUNCIONALES EN EL CEREBRO DURANTE LA VEJEZ, LOS CUALES SE RELACIONAN CON UN MEJOR RENDIMIENTO COGNITIVO. ADEMÁS, SE SUGIERE QUE LA PARTICIPACIÓN REGULAR EN ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA PUEDE SER UN FACTOR PREDICTIVO DE UN ENVEJECIMIENTO CEREBRAL SALUDABLE. SIN EMBARGO, PERSISTE LA CONTROVERSIA EN CUANTO AL TIPO, DURACIÓN E INTENSIDAD DE LA ACTIVIDAD FÍSICA QUE REÚNE LAS CONDICIONES NECESARIAS PARA PROMOVER UN ENVEJECIMIENTO COGNITIVO ÓPTIMO Y QUE PUEDA SER UTILIZADA COMO MEDIDA ESTÁNDAR PARA LA PROMOCIÓN DE UN ENVEJECIMIENTO CEREBRAL SALUDABLE.

SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST SERVICES HAS BEEN EXTENSIVELY DESCRIBED. HOWEVER, IN CHILE THE EVOLUTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THESE SERVICES AT HOSPITAL LEVEL AND ESPECIALLY DURING THE LAST YEARS (PRE AND POST COVID-19) ARE UNKNOWN. THE EXPLORATION OF THESE DATA COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES AND DECISION MAKING AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE THE EVOLUTION AND CHARACTERISTICS OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST SERVICES BETWEEN THE YEARS 2015-2022 IN A CHILEAN HIGH COMPLEXITY HOSPITAL. METHODS: BY MEANS OF A QUANTITATIVE, TRANSECTIONAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN, 96 DATABASES CORRESPONDING TO THE MONTHLY STATISTICAL RECORDS (REM) BETWEEN JANUARY 2015 AND DECEMBER 2022 WERE REVIEWED. THE VARIABLES ANALYZED WERE: NUMBER OF INITIAL AND INTERMEDIATE EVALUATIONS, HOSPITAL REHABILITATION SESSIONS, HOME REHABILITATION AND PROCEDURES-ACTIVITIES PERFORMED. RESULTS: AN OSCILLATING INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST SERVICES PERFORMED BETWEEN 2015-2022 WAS OBSERVED. PREFERENCE IS GIVEN TO HOSPITAL REHABILITATION SESSIONS (95,626 SERVICES) FOLLOWED BY INITIAL EVALUATIONS (11,550). BY SPECIFIC AREA, THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF BENEFITS WAS OBTAINED BY SWALLOWING REHABILITATION (22,594), WHILE INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP AUDITORY REHABILITATION ONLY PRESENTED 7 AND 11 RECORDS RESPECTIVELY. CONCLUSIONS: THE ANALYSIS OF THE REM EXHIBITS AN INCREMENTAL EVOLUTION OF THE REGISTRY OF SPEECH AND LANGUAGE THERAPIST SERVICES, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE LAST THREE YEARS (2020 ONWARDS), THIS DESPITE THE FLUCTUATIONS OBSERVED DURING THE PREVIOUS YEARS (2015-2019). THIS INCREASE WOULD BE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE INCREASE IN THE HIRING OF PROFESSIONALS, IMPROVEMENT OF SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT, INCORPORATION OF THE SPEECH THERAPIST TO PATHOLOGIES WITH EXPLICIT HEALTH GUARANTEES (GES) AND THE NEED FOR PROFESSIONAL STAFFING DUE TO THE COVID-19 CONTINGENCY.

AN AGING BRAIN EXHIBITS SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LANGUAGE PROCESSING, WITH GOOD PERFORMANCE IN CERTAIN AREAS AND DEFICITS IN OTHERS. HOWEVER, THE MULTIPLE LEVELS INVOLVED AND COGNITIVE AND AGE HETEROGENEITY IN AGING MAKE THE LIMITS OF THESE DEFICITS STILL VAGUE. A BETTER KNOWLEDGE WOULD HELP TO MEASURE THE REAL MAGNITUDE OF THESE CHANGES AND TO DISCRIMINATE NORMATIVE VARIATIONS FROM THOSE THAT DO NOT. THE PUR-POSE OF THE ARTICLE IS TO PROVIDE ADVANCED INFORMATION ON LANGUAGE DECLINE DURING THIRD AND FOURTH AGE BY REVIEWING THE EMPIRICAL STUDIES. AS A RESULT, DEFICITS ARE OBSERVED IN WORD RECOGNITION, COMPREHEN-SION AND PRODUCTION OF COMPLEX CLAUSES, LEXICAL RETRIEVAL, AND DISCOURSE, CHANGES THAT PROGRESS DURING THIRD AND FOURTH AGE; BUT THAT DO NOT APPEAR TO ALTER FUNCTIONAL COMMUNICATION. HOWEVER, TO UNDERS-TAND THIS PHENOMENON GLOBALLY, IS NECESSARY TO CONSIDER OTHER ASPECTS, SUCH AS THE USE OF COMPENSATORY STRATEGIES RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE COMMUNICATIVE POTENTIAL IN AN AGING BRAIN.

BACKGROUND: DURING THE FOURTH AGE (80+ YEARS), COGNITIVE DIFFICULTIES INCREASE. ALTHOUGH LANGUAGE SEEMS TO RESIST THE ADVANCEMENT OF AGE, AN OLDER PERSON WITHOUT PATHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN COGNITION MAY EXHIBIT DEFICITS IN LEXICAL ACCESS. THIS STUDY EXAMINES THE RESTRICTIONS ON LEXICAL ACCESS IN PEOPLE AGED 80 AND OLDER IN WORD RECOGNITION AND RETRIEVAL MODALITIES THROUGH FOUR LEXICAL TASKS. METHOD: THE EFFECT OF AGING ON RESPONSE TIME AND ACCURACY WAS MEASURED USING RECOGNITION (LEXICAL DECISION/NAMING/PRIMING) AND RETRIEVAL (PICTURE NAMING) TASKS. A FOURTH AGE GROUP (>80) AND TWO THIRD AGE GROUPS (60?69/70?79) WERE COMPARED ACCORDING TO LEXICAL ACCESS MODALITY AND TYPE OF TASK EMPLOYED THROUGH LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS. RESULTS: PEOPLE AGED 80 AND OLDER EXHIBIT A STRONG LEXICAL ACCESS CONSTRAINT, AS THEY ARE SLOWER AND LESS ACCURATE IN RECOGNIZING AND RETRIEVING WORDS THAN BOTH THIRD AGE GROUPS. THESE RESTRICTIONS ARE MORE PROFOUND FOR THE WORD RETRIEVAL MODALITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE PICTURE NAMING TASK. CONCLUSION: IMPAIRED FLUID INTELLIGENCE AND INTERNODE TRANSMISSION DEFICITS DURING ADVANCED AGING COULD FURTHER REDUCE THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE AND/OR RETRIEVE WORDS, HAVING AN IMPACT ON ACCESS SPEED AND ACCURACY. FURTHERMORE, THE IDEA THAT CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE COULD STRENGTHEN THE ACCURACY OF LEXICAL ACCESS DURING AGING IS SUPPORTED, SPECIFICALLY IN WORD RECOGNITION MODALITY.

EL PARADIGMA SIMBÓLICO COMPUTACIONAL PROPONE QUE LA MENTE ES UN SISTEMA DE PROCESAMIENTO COMPUESTO POR UN CONJUNTO DE ESTRUCTURAS ORGANIZADAS QUE OPERAN SIGUIENDO REGLAS PRECISAS PARA TRATAR Y TRANSFORMAR LA INFORMACIÓN. AL RESPECTO, JERRY FODOR (1983) NOS PRESENTA UN MODELO QUE SUPONE UNA ORGANIZACIÓN MODULAR DE LA MENTE. DICHOS MÓDULOS SON ESPECÍFICOS E INNATOS Y SERÍAN RESPONSABLES DE NUESTRO COMPORTAMIENTO. EN ESTA LÍNEA, NOAM CHOMSKY(1995) CONCIBE EL LENGUAJE COMO UNA CAPACIDAD INHERENTE DEL SER HUMANO, MODULAR Y ESPECÍFICA, QUE SE DESARROLLA A PARTIR DE PROCESOS MADURATIVOS, DONDE EL AMBIENTE ES SOLO UN MECANISMO QUE LO DESENCADENA. BAJO ESTOS PRINCIPIOS, LA MODULARIDAD DE LA MENTE FUE GANANDO TERRENO, HASTA SER CONSIDERADA EL MODELO MÁS INFLUYENTE DE LA CIENCIA COGNITIVA.NO OBSTANTE, CON EL TIEMPO, EL MODELO HA SIDO AMPLIAMENTE CUESTIONADO, PUES SUPONE UNA DESNATURALIZACIÓN DE LA PSICOLOGÍA YA QUE SU FUNDAMENTACIÓN ES TECNOLÓGICA Y NO NATURALISTA, AL CONSIDERAR EL CEREBRO COMO UN SISTEMA DE CÓMPUTOS. NO TOMA EN CUENTA LAS EMOCIONES NI LA FUNCIÓN DE LA CONCIENCIA EN EL PENSAMIENTO. ADEMÁS, SE DESENTIENDE DEL APORTE DEL CUERPO, ES DECIR, LA ACCIÓN, LA PERCEPCIÓN Y LA EMOCIÓN EN LA CONFIGURACIÓN DE LA COGNICIÓN. SUMADO, DESCONOCE LA INTERCONEXIÓN PARALELA ENTRE MÚLTIPLES UNIDADES DE PROCESAMIENTO QUE PERMITEN INTEGRAR INFORMACIÓN (CONEXIONISMO). INDEPENDIENTE DE ESTAS CRÍTICAS, LA MODULARIDAD PROPICIÓ MODELOS EXPLICATIVOS PIONEROS PARA ENTENDER EL FUNCIONAMIENTO DE LA MENTE Y EL COMPORTAMIENTO. EL PRÓXIMO DESAFÍO PARA LA CIENCIA COGNITIVA SERÁ COMPLEMENTAR LOS DISTINTOS MODELOS DE PROCESAMIENTO QUE PERMITAN OTORGAR UNA PERSPECTIVA FUNCIONAL MÁS AMPLIA DE LA MENTE HUMANA.

AUNQUE EL PROCESAMIENTO DEL LENGUAJE PARECE RESISTIR EL AVANCE DE LA EDAD, LOS CAMBIOS LINGÜÍSTICOS EN EL ENVEJECIMIENTO SON EL REFLEJO DE UN DECLIVE SISTEMÁTICO DE RECURSOS COGNITIVOS Y ENERGÉTICOS. SIN EMBARGO, EL ENVEJECIMIENTO NO AFECTA AL LENGUAJE DE UN MODO GLOBAL, PREDOMINANDO UN MARCADO DETERIORO DE LA PRODUCCIÓN FRENTE A UNA RELATIVA MANTENCIÓN DE LA COMPRENSIÓN EN DIVERSOS NIVELES. LA PRESENTE REVISIÓN ENTREGA INFORMACIÓN ACTUALIZADA DE LOS CAMBIOS QUE OCURREN EN EL ENVEJECIMIENTO LINGÜÍSTICO, FOCALIZÁNDOSE EN EL PROCESAMIENTO LÉXICO-SEMÁNTICO Y EL ROL DE FACTORES SOCIODEMOGRÁFICOS COMO LA EDUCACIÓN, NIVEL SOCIOECONÓMICO Y GÉNERO; ADEMÁS SE REALIZA UN BREVE ACERCAMIENTO AL PROCESAMIENTO LINGÜÍSTICO EN LA CUARTA EDAD. COMO RESULTADO, LA LITERATURA NOS MUESTRA QUE EL PROCESAMIENTO LÉXICO-SEMÁNTICO ES ASIMÉTRICO, LOS ADULTOS MAYORES MANTIENEN SU VOCABULARIO Y CONOCIMIENTO CONCEPTUAL, NO OBSTANTE, FALLAN EN TAREAS DE ACCESO Y DISPONIBILIDAD LÉXICA, CON UN NOTABLE AUMENTO DE LOS EVENTOS DE PUNTA DE LA LENGUA ASOCIADOS A UNA DEPENDENCIA DE LAS VARIABLES PSICOLINGÜÍSTICAS DE LA PALABRA. A SU VEZ, SE CONSTATA QUE EL NIVEL EDUCACIONAL Y SOCIOECONÓMICO PUEDEN INFLUIR EN EL RENDIMIENTO LÉXICO-SEMÁNTICO DEL ADULTO MAYOR, DADA SU RELACIÓN CON LA RESERVA COGNITIVA Y LA MAYOR ELABORACIÓN DE ESTRATEGIAS COMPENSATORIAS.

IN THE LAST YEARS, AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE TO IDENTIFY THE RISK FACTORS THAT ARE RELATED TO THE IMPAIRMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS. THE OBJECTIVE WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER FACTORS SUCH AS AGE, EDUCATION, HYPERTENSION AND DEPRESSION, AMONG OTHERS, ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MCI IN OLDER ADULTS. A SAMPLE OF 119 PEOPLE WAS SELECTED. MCI WAS DETERMINED USING ACE-R-CH AND RISK FACTORS BY USING A STRUCTURED PROTOCOL. THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VARIABLES WAS QUANTIFIED WITH ODDS-RATIO AND ?2 TEST. A LOGISTIC MODEL WAS PUT TO USE FOR REGRESSIVE VARIABLES WITH WALD TEST. THE REGRESSION ANALYSIS OF THE VARIABLES SIGNIFICANTLY ASSOCIATED WITH MCI (P

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN A WORD AND TYPICAL LOCATION (E.G., CLOUD-UP) APPEARS TO MODULATE HEALTHY INDIVIDUALS RESPONSE TIMES AND VISUAL ATTENTION. THIS STUDY EXAMINED WHETHER SIMILAR EFFECTS CAN BE OBSERVED IN A CLINICAL POPULATION CHARACTERIZED BY DIFFICULTIES IN BOTH SPATIAL REPRESENTATION AND LEXICAL PROCESSING. IN AN EYE-TRACKING EXPERIMENT, PARTICIPANTS CATEGORIZED SPOKEN WORDS AS EITHER UP-ASSOCIATED OR DOWN-ASSOCIATED. PARKINSONS DISEASE PATIENTS EXHIBITED A TENDENCY TO MAINTAIN THEIR VISUAL ATTENTION IN THE UPPER HALF OF THE SCREEN, HOWEVER, THIS TENDENCY WAS SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER WHEN PARTICIPANTS CATEGORIZED CONCEPTS AS DOWN-ASSOCIATED. INSTEAD, THE CONTROL GROUP SHOWED NO PREFERENCE FOR EITHER THE UPPER OR LOWER HALF OF THE SCREEN. WE ARGUE THAT PARKINSONS DISEASE PATIENTS PRESENT AN OVER-RELIANCE ON SPACE DURING WORD CATEGORIZATION AS A FORM OF COGNITIVE COMPENSATION. SUCH COMPENSATION REVEALS THAT THIS CLINICAL POPULATION MAY USE SPATIAL ANCHORING WHEN CATEGORIZING WORDS WITH A SPATIAL ASSOCIATION, EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF EXPLICIT SPATIAL CUES.

PURPOSE: TO EXPLORE WHETHER THE DIADOCHOKINETIC INDEX OF SYLLABLE PRODUCTION VARIABILITY (DDKCVP%) IS USEFUL FOR THE DETECTION OF ARTICULATORY INACCURACIES IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF PARKINSON?S DISEASE (PD). METHODS: A DIADOCHOKINETIC SPEECH TASK OF THE CONSONANT-VOWEL TYPE [PA-PA-PA] WAS APPLIED TO 18 PEOPLE WITH PD (CLASSIFIED IN STAGES OF PROGRESSION FROM 1 TO 5 ACCORDING TO THE HOEHN & YAHR SCALE) TO DETERMINE THEIR DIADOCHOKINETIC PERFORMANCE. RECORDS OF THE STUDY GROUP WERE COMPARED TO A REFERENCE VALUE OBTAINED FROM A CONTROL GROUP MADE UP OF 40 SUBJECTS. RESULTS: 77.78% OF THE STUDY GROUP SHOWED ARTICULATORY INACCURACIES. THE DDKCVP% INDEX ALLOWED TO DETECT ARTICULATORY DIFFICULTIES FROM STAGE 1 OF PD, AND ITS VARIATION SHOWED THAT ARTICULATORY DEFICITS WERE PERMANENT FROM STAGE 2 ONWARDS. A SIGNIFICANT AND DIRECT CORRELATION WAS OBTAINED BETWEEN THE INCREASE IN THE DDKCVP% INDEX AND THE INCREASE IN THE STAGE OF EVOLUTION OF THE PARTICIPANTS. CONCLUSION: DDKCVP% INDEX EVALUATED BY MEANS OF A SIMPLE AND FAST CONSONANT-VOWEL DIADOCHOKINETIC TASK [PA-PA-PA], COULD BE USEFUL TO DETERMINE ARTICULATORY INACCURACIES IN DIFFERENT STAGES OF PD, ALTHOUGH IT IS SUGGESTED THAT INVESTIGATION OF THIS INDEX IN LARGER SAMPLE SIZES BE CONDUCTED.

DURING THE FOURTH AGE, A MARKED PHYSIOLOGICAL DETERIORATION AND CRITICAL POINTS OF DYSFUNCTION ARE OBSERVED, DURING WHICH COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE EXHIBITS A MARKED DECLINE IN CERTAIN SKILLS (FLUID INTELLIGENCE) BUT GOOD PERFORMANCE OF OTHERS (CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE). EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE DESCRIBES IMPORTANT CONSTRAINTS ON WORD PRODUCTION DURING OLD AGE, ACCOMPANIED BY A RELATIVE STABILIZATION OF SPEECH COMPREHENSION. HOWEVER, COGNITIVE CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH ADVANCED AGING COULD ALSO AFFECT COMPREHENSION, PARTICULARLY WORD RECOGNITION. THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINES HOW THE VISUAL RECOGNITION OF WORDS IS AFFECTED DURING THE FOURTH AGE WHEN TASKS INVOLVING DIFFERENT COGNITIVE LOADS ARE APPLIED. THROUGH LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS, PERFORMANCE WAS COMPARED BETWEEN TWO THIRD-AGE GROUPS AND A FOURTH-AGE GROUP ON REACTION TIME (RT) AND ACCURACY IN NAMING, PRIMING AND LEXICAL DECISION EXPERIMENTS. THE FOURTH-AGE GROUP SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT RT INCREASE IN ALL EXPERIMENTS. IN CONTRAST, ACCURACY WAS GOOD WHEN THE TASK INVOLVED A LOW COGNITIVE DEMAND (EXPERIMENTS 1 AND 2); HOWEVER, WHEN A DECISIONAL COGNITIVE FACTOR WAS INCLUDED (EXPERIMENT 3), THE FOURTH-AGE GROUP PERFORMED SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE THAN THE YOUNGER THIRD-AGE GROUP. WE ARGUE THAT THE BEHAVIOR OBSERVED AMONG FOURTH-AGE INDIVIDUALS IS CONSISTENT WITH AN UNBALANCED COGNITIVE CONFIGURATION, IN WHICH THE FLUID INTELLIGENCE DEFICIT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE SPEED NECESSARY TO RECOGNIZE WORDS, INDEPENDENT OF THE COGNITIVE LOAD ASSOCIATED WITH THE TEST. IN CONTRAST, THE MAINTENANCE IN CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE IMPROVES THE ACCURACY OF THE PROCESS, STRENGTHENING LINGUISTIC FUNCTIONALITY IN THE ADVANCED STAGES OF OLD AGE.

ALTHOUGH THERE IS EVIDENCE THAT RECOGNIZING PSEUDOWORDS IS MORE DIFFICULT THAN RECOGNIZING WORDS DURING CHILDHOOD, ADULTHOOD, AND EARLY OLD AGE (60?75 YEARS), IT IS NOT YET CLEAR WHAT HAPPENS DURING ADVANCED AGING OR THE FOURTH AGE, A STAGE WHEN THE DECLINE OF FLUID INTELLIGENCE STRONGLY AFFECTS PROCESSING SPEED, BUT A GOOD PERFORMANCE OF CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE IS DESCRIBED THROUGH AN INCREASE IN VOCABULARY AND KNOWLEDGE. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE LEXICALITY EFFECT IN ADVANCED AGING, SPECIFICALLY EXPLORING HOW THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE WORDS AND PSEUDOWORDS (ORTHO-PHONOLOGICALLY PLAUSIBLE FOR SPANISH) IS AFFECTED DURING THE THIRD AND FOURTH-AGES. THE LEXICALITY EFFECT WAS MEASURED USING NAMING AND LEXICAL DECISION TASKS. RESPONSE TIME AND ACCURACY WERE COMPARED BETWEEN A FOURTH-AGE GROUP (80+ YEARS) AND TWO THIRD-AGE GROUPS (60?69 AND 70?79 YEARS) THROUGH LINEAR REGRESSION MODELS. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT, IN GENERAL, THE FOURTH-AGE GROUP HAD LONGER RESPONSE TIMES AND REDUCED ACCURACY WHEN RECOGNIZING WORDS AND PSEUDOWORDS. MOREOVER, THEY SHOWED A SIGNIFICANT LEXICALITY EFFECT (WHICH INCREASES FROM THE THIRD- AGE ONWARDS), REFLECTED IN HIGHER COSTS DURING PSEUDOWORD RECOGNITION, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE TASK REQUIRED MORE COGNITIVE EFFORT (LEXICAL DECISION TASK). THESE RESULTS WERE CONSISTENT WITH THE IMPACT OF THE DETERIORATION OF FLUID INTELLIGENCE ON THE SPEED OF LEXICAL RECOGNITION AND WITH THE BETTER PERFORMANCE THAT CRYSTALLIZED INTELLIGENCE CAN GENERATE ON ACCURACY, ESPECIALLY IN THE EARLY STAGES OF OLD AGE. ADDITIONALLY, THIS STUDY SUPPORTS THE FACT THAT PSEUDOWORD RECOGNITION RESISTS COGNITIVE DECLINE, AS ACCENTUATED DETERIORATION IS VISUALIZED ONLY AFTER 80 YEARS.

OLDER ADULTS SHOW A PROGRESSIVE COGNITIVE DECLINE, AND ALTHOUGH LANGUAGE PROCESSING APPEARS TO RESIST ADVANCING AGE, STUDIES IN WORD RETRIEVAL REPORT THAT ELDERS SHOW IMPORTANT DIFFICULTIES. PREVIOUS RESEARCH REPORTS THAT SUCH FAILURES INCREASE FROM AGE 70?YEARS, WHICH SUGGESTS THAT DURING THE FOURTH AGE WORD RETRIEVAL WOULD EXHIBIT EVEN STRONGER CONSTRAINTS. AT THE SAME TIME, EXTANT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT ONLY RETRIEVAL OF A SPECIFIC WORD MIGHT DECLINE IN ADVANCED AGING, AND NOT THE RECOVERY OF MULTIPLE PIECES ASSOCIATED WITH A GIVEN SEMANTIC CATEGORY. HOWEVER, THOSE STUDIES DID NOT EXPLICITLY ASSESS THESE PHENOMENA IN A GROUP OF OLDER ADULTS IN THEIR FOURTH AGE, AND THUS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED CONCLUSIVE WITH REGARDS TO THIS PARTICULAR GROUP. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE EXAMINED WORD RETRIEVAL IN THREE DISTINCTIVE ADVANCED AGE GROUPS (60?69, 70?79, AND 80+ YEARS) IN TWO PRODUCTION TASKS: A PICTURE NAMING TASK, AND A LEXICAL AVAILABILITY TASK. WE COMPARED THE FOURTH-AGE GROUP AGAINST THE OTHER TWO THIRD-AGE GROUP IN THEIR REACTION TIME (RT) AND ACCURACY AS WELL AS, ON THE LEXICAL AVAILABILITY INDEX (LAI) AND TOTAL WORDS RETRIEVED IN A LEXICAL AVAILABILITY TASK. FOURTH-AGE GROUP EXHIBITED LONGER RT IN THE PICTURE NAMING TASK, YET A HIGH LEVEL OF ACCURACY. THEY ALSO SHOWED A REDUCED NUMBER OF RETRIEVED WORDS, AS WELL AS, A REDUCED LAI, RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL GROUPS. WE DISCUSS OUR RESULTS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE DECLINE OF FLUID INTELLIGENCE, AND THE INFORMATION TRANSMISSION DEFICITS HYPOTHESIS.