THE HOPKINS-VERBAL-LEARNING-TEST AND CVLT - A PRELIMINARY COMPARISON

A preliminary examination of the relationship between two clinical mea sures of verbal memory was conducted among healthy older subjects. Cor relations between selected scores from the Hopkins Verbal Learning Tes t (HVLT) and the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) revealed that the total number of words learned across trials for both tests were si gnificantly related (r =.74, p <.001), while there was no association between error rates (i.e., perseverations and intrusions). Recognition hits alone were not related, but recognition discriminability indices (accounting Sor false-positive errors) on the two measures were signi ficantly correlated (r =.46, p =.02). While the HVLT appears to adequa tely assess basic verbal learning capacity, its utility in assessing s ome of the more complex and qualitative aspects of verbal learning and memory function may be limited, and interpretations of HVLT performan ces based on the CVLT literature must be made with caution. A clinical case example is presented to illustrate some gf the issues in compari ng performance on the HVLT and CVLT. (C) 1998 National Academy of Neur opsychology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.