Semantic and Categorical Verbal Fluency: An Indicator of Progression of Cognitive Decline with Aging

Background: Changes in cognitive functioning with the progression of age have been suggested as indicator of potential degenerative disorders in older adults. With growing age, deterioration in executive functions happens and is noticeable from the difficulties in day-to-day planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and inhibition or fluency in the elderly. However, in the early stages, it might be tricky to clinically identify if the decline in the cognitive functions is clinically significant or not. Verbal fluency is a valuable executive function and posited as one of the indicators of cognitive impairment. Within this construct, categorical and semantic fluency are inclined to indicate the verbal stimulus recognition and association. It is suggested that the capability to distinguish and associate verbal stimulus could be at different levels of decline with aging with a possible pattern of decline from the early stage of old age and later and distinct among males and females. This progressive decline and changes in verbal fluency could indicate the probable occurrence of cognitive impairment in the aging population. The study aimed to explore the verbal and semantic fluency as an indicator of the progression of cognitive decline with aging and to explore the sex differences in verbal fluency of the studied sample if any. Methodology: Hundred individuals of both sexes in the age range of 50-70 years were selected for the study. The Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWA) and animal naming test were administered to measure the semantic and categorical verbal fluency of the participants. Results: Results suggest significant changes in verbal fluency with aging in the participants. However, the sex difference in verbal fluency was marginal, as males performed slightly better on the naming task but not in the word association task. Conclusions: Changes in verbal fluency are evident and prominent among the aging population and could be a valuable tool for early identification and intervention, decreasing the risks of degeneration and improving the quality of life of the elderly.