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The Verbal Selective Reminding Test (VSRT) is a widely used measure to evaluate verbal learning and memory associated with different neurological conditions. The goal of this study was to extend the use of the six-version trial of this test to the Portuguese population, through the production of adjusted normative data. The normative sample consists of 309 healthy participants aged between 20 and 70, with an educational level ranging from 4 to 23 years of formal. Gender, education, and age effects were explored. In addition, the reliability of the test was also analyzed and normative data produced. Gender, age, and education were significantly associated with VSRT performance. The test revealed excellent inter-rater reliability and good test-retest reliability. The normative data is presented as a regression-based formula to adjust test scores for gender, education and age. The correspondence between adjusted scores and percentile distribution was calculated. Since a test with appropriate norms is fundamental to an appropriate assessment of memory functioning, the normative data produced in this study improves the applicability of VRST for both clinical and research proposes in the Portuguese population. Further studies might also explore the adequacy of these norms for other Portuguese-speaking countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Selective Reminding Test (SRT) and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) are multitrial memory tests that use a common “selective reminding” paradigm that aims to facilitate learning by presenting only the missing words from the previous recall trial. While in the FCSRT semantic cues are provided to elicit recall, in the SRT, participants are merely reminded of the missing items by repeating them. These tests have been used to assess age-related memory changes and to predict dementia. The performance of healthy elders on these tests has been compared before, and results have shown that twice as many words were retrieved from long-term memory in the FCSRT compared with the SRT. In this study, we compared the tests’ properties and their accuracy in discriminating amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI;n = 20) from Alzheimer disease (AD;n = 18). Patients with AD performed significantly worse than patients with aMCI on both tests. The percentage of items recalled during the learning trials was significantly higher for the FCSRT in both groups, and a higher number of items were later retrieved, showing the benefit of category cueing. Our key finding was that the FCSRT showed higher accuracy in discriminating patients with aMCI from those with AD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Open Trial Selective Reminding Test (OT-SRT) is a modification of the SRT that also evaluates new learning abilities. The examinee is asked to learn a list of 10 words over a maximum of 15 trials. Using a criterion-referenced approach, the list is repeatedly administered until a criterion of complete recall on two consecutive trials is achieved. Training to criterion provides a better assessment of learning ability than the traditional fixed trial list-learning paradigm. Recall and recognition is then tested 30 and 90 minutes following the learning trials. This paper presents normative data on the OT-SRT for 117 healthy controls (Study 1) and 151 participants with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (Study 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]