Literacy and Neuropsychological Functions in the Older Korean Adults

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the effects of illiteracy on neuropsychological functions of older Korean adults. Illiteracy was evaluated with the Literacy Questionnaire which involved interview with the subjects. METHODS: The participants were 206 healthy people, ages between 55 and 84, who were sampled in the Seoul-Kyungki region and Chungnam province. RESULTS: The results revealed that verbal memory tests were not disadvantageous to illiterate people. Rather non-verbal tasks such as the copy condition of the Simple Rey Figure Test and the Clock Drawing Test proved disadvantageous. CONCLUSION: Literacy appears to be beneficial to the development of visuospatial abilities. Neuropsychological tests that involve visuospatial function may not be efficient in discriminating dementia patients who are illiterate.