Population Normative Data for the CERAD Word List and Victoria Stroop Test in Younger- and Middle-Aged Adults: Cross-Sectional Analyses from the Framingham Heart Study.

BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: To provide baseline normative data on tests of verbal memory and executive function for nondemented younger- and middle-aged adults. METHODS: The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease word list memory task (CERAD-WL) and Victoria Stroop Test (VST) were administered to 3362 Framingham Heart Study (FHS) volunteer participants aged 24-78 years. Analyses of the effects of age, gender, and education were conducted. Normative data on traditional measures and error responses are reported for each test. RESULTS: Traditional measures were significantly associated with both age and education in this cohort. Error responses also evidenced significant age and education effects. CONCLUSION: These data provide a normative comparison for assessment of verbal memory and executive functioning capabilities in younger- and middle-aged adults and may be utilized as a tool for preclinical studies of disease in this population.

Qualitative neuropsychological measures: normative data on executive functioning tests from the Framingham offspring study.

UNLABELLED: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Studies have found that executive functioning is affected early in the pathophysiological processes associated with Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. There also exists a range of functioning on executive tasks during normal aging. Although qualitative data are commonly utilized in clinical practice for evaluating subtle changes in cognitive functioning and diagnostic discernment, it is not clear whether error responses used in clinical practice are also evident as normative behavior. METHODS: As part of an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests, executive functioning measures (i.e., Trail Making Test Part B, Similarities and Verbal Fluency tests) were administered via standardized administration prescript. Regression analyses were used to determine associations between vascular aging indices and qualitative performance measures. Descriptive statistics are included for 1907 cognitively normal individuals. RESULTS: Results suggest that although qualitative errors do occur, they are relatively infrequent within a presumably cognitively normal sample. Error commission rates on executive functioning tests are significantly associated with both age and education. CONCLUSION: Provided is a baseline profile of errors committed on tests of executive function across a range of age and educational levels. The normative data sets are included, stratified by age and educational achievement, for which to compare qualitative test performance of clinical and research populations.