Change in naming abilities between the ages of 50 and 90: The importance of analyzing naming latency

This study tests the controversial hypothesis that word naming difficulties may arise in individuals as young as their 50s. Participants of 25-35, 50-59, 60-69 and above 70 years of age were given a picture naming task. To uncover subtle naming difficulties, correct naming latencies were analyzed, in addition to accuracy. Moreover, in order to control whether the expected slower naming latencies could be due to a general slowing affecting all cognitive tasks, participants were also given an odd/even judgment task to assess cognitive processing speed. In participants in their 50s, we found subtle naming difficulties revealed by longer naming latencies, unaccompanied by any decrease in naming accuracy. The age-related naming disadvantage increased with age with the onset of naming errors. Thus, in adults in their 60s and their 70s, the results showed both a decrease in accuracy and an increase in correct naming latencies. Moreover, the increase in naming latencies remained significant even after controlling for odd/even judgment latencies, suggesting a degradation specific to the picture naming task. We assumed that these slower latencies may result from a language-specific impairment.