Verb Retrieval Performance in Neuropsychological Testing of Persian Adults

There are a few studies reported on the verb fluency task. This task is considered an appropriate criterion for executive function in addition to being a means of measurement for showing loss of deficit and integrity of the anterior subcortical region. Verb fluency has common characteristics with other executive function tests and considers factors that are not diagnosed with traditional tests.
A cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 BSc. and MSc. students (30 males and 30 females). Participants were asked to produce any verb that could be retrieved in one minute. Scoring was based on the number of produced items using an independent t-test.
The results of the present study showed no significant differences between the mean number of verbs and verb type in males and females. Additionally, no statistically significant differences in the total number of verbs and their types were observed between MSc and BSc students.
The use of transitive-intransitive and simple-complex verbs was almost the same in participants, although they had to retrieve certain structures of verb category during verb naming, like sentence completing tasks. Thus, this task can be used in the diagnosis and comparison of neurological disorders, and the results can be used as a basis for future studies.