Predicting the Complexity of Generative Syntax from Measures of Working Memory in Younger and Older Adults

This study sought to explore the possible predictive value of measures of working memory to various forms of complex syntax used in younger and older normal adults’ oral narratives. I will use the CART Summer Grant award to write a manuscript for submission to the Journal of Speech and Hearing Research (JSHR) focusing on the results of my original quantitative research examining adults’ oral narratives and their relationship to working memory function. A thorough analysis of quantitative results related to the possible intersects of working memory and generative syntax (grammatical sentences) during oral conversational monologues will be performed. Findings will identify significant predictors of multi-clause sentences and will further inform the literature regarding the effects of normal aging on language competency. The findings offer the clinician new methods of evaluating working memory and evidence for the influence of working memory on normal language functions