Neill Erica, Gurvich Caroline, Rossell Susan L
a Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre (MAPrc), Central Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences , Monash University and The Alfred Hospital , Melbourne , Australia.
Cogn Neuropsychiatry. 2014;19(1):81-95. doi: 10.1080/13546805.2013.807233. Epub 2013 Jul 4.
The semantic fluency task is described as a measure of semantic function and utilised in schizophrenia (SZ) research to demonstrate semantic deficits. Two meta-analyses support the efficacy of this task in measuring semantic function in SZ; however, a more recent meta-analysis suggests that executive dysfunction is the predominant determinant of semantic fluency performance in this group. By (1) matching the semantic and executive fluency tasks on discriminant validity, and (2) including an additional fluency task containing both semantic and executive elements (animals by size), this study aimed to determine whether semantic fluency is in fact an appropriate measure of semantic function in SZ.
Forty-two SZ participants and 40 healthy controls performed 3 fluency tasks: executive (F, A, S), semantic (body parts), and semantic/executive (animals by size). Performance on these tasks was analysed in two ways, (1) based on discriminant validity and (2) by matching output between the semantic and semantic/executive fluency tasks.
When the semantic and executive fluency tasks were matched, executive fluency performance was either (1) mildly impaired or (2) not impaired in SZ. Both semantic and semantic/executive performance was impaired in SZ regardless of calculation. Group differences on the semantic/executive task remained when executive function was controlled for, but disappeared when semantic fluency effects were controlled for.
The findings support earlier meta-analyses in finding that the semantic fluency task is a robust measure of semantic memory function in SZ.
语义流畅性任务被描述为一种语义功能的测量方法，并在精神分裂症（SZ）研究中用于证明语义缺陷。两项荟萃分析支持该任务在测量SZ语义功能方面的有效性；然而，最近的一项荟萃分析表明，执行功能障碍是该组语义流畅性表现的主要决定因素。通过（1）使语义和执行流畅性任务在区分效度上相匹配，以及（2）纳入一项包含语义和执行元素的额外流畅性任务（按大小分类的动物），本研究旨在确定语义流畅性是否实际上是SZ语义功能的一种合适测量方法。
42名SZ参与者和40名健康对照者进行了3项流畅性任务：执行（F、A、S）、语义（身体部位）和语义/执行（按大小分类的动物）。这些任务的表现通过两种方式进行分析，（1）基于区分效度，以及（2）通过匹配语义和语义/执行流畅性任务之间的输出。
当语义和执行流畅性任务相匹配时，SZ的执行流畅性表现要么（1）轻度受损，要么（2）未受损。无论计算方式如何，SZ的语义和语义/执行表现均受损。在控制执行功能时，语义/执行任务上的组间差异仍然存在，但在控制语义流畅性效应时消失。
这些发现支持了早期的荟萃分析，即语义流畅性任务是SZ语义记忆功能的一种可靠测量方法。
