Characterization of Verbal Operants in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease

Language is an important cognitive function and its decline may represent demential syndrome in evolution. Verbal behavior theory, proposed by Skinner, analyzes language in terms of verbal operants. Objective: to compare the verbal behavior (verbal operants) in subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and elderly without any cognitive impairment. Methods: The cross-sectional study included 69 subjects aged over 60 years old, and with above 4 years of educational level. All participants undergone detailed medical history and neuropsychological assessment. Forty-three patients received AD diagnostic and 26 comprised the control group. Results: There were significant differences between the two groups in intraverbal (p<0,0001), copy (p<0,0001), dictation (p<0,0001), tact (p<0,0001) and autoclitics measures (p<0,0001). Regarding echoic behavior, the results showed no significant differences (p=0,268). Conclusion: verbal operant analysis may be another aspect to be considered in the differential diagnosis of AD patients.