EDUCATION AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

In normal aging, an association exists between level of education and verbal abilities. Clinical experience suggests that this relationship may also hold true in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we exam ined performance on selected verbal and nonverbal neuropsychological t ests in a series of 51 patients with probable AD. Performance on two v erbal measures-the National Adult Reading Test-Revised (NART-R) and th e Vocabulary subtest from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revise d (WAIS-R)-showed strong correlations with level of education. Scores on three nonverbal tests-WAIS-R Block Design, WAIS-R Digit Symbol, and Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination clock drawings-were unrelated t o education. Consistent with our hypothesis, AD patients with higher p remorbid education showed better performance on certain measures of ve rbal competence. These results indicate that, as in normal aging, educ ation is associated with verbal abilities in AD.