Verbal and spatial immediate memory span: normative data from 1355 adults and 1112 children

Ital J Neurol Sci. 1987 Dec;8(6):539-48. doi: 10.1007/BF02333660.

Abstract

Norms are provided for verbal and visuo-spatial immediate memory span, two tasks widely used in the clinical assessment of short-term memory and its neurological disorders. Data have been collected from 1355 male and female adult subjects, with various educational backgrounds and a 20-99 years age range. Span shows a major decrement after the late sixties and is affected by educational level. Male subjects score better on the spatial task. Data collected from 1112 male and female children, 4-to-10 year-old, show that span increases with age and boys score better on the spatial test.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Attention
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Form Perception*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory, Short-Term*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Orientation*
  • Psychomotor Performance
  • Reference Values
  • Verbal Learning*