Validation and Normative Data of the Spanish Version of the Face Name Associative Memory Exam (S-FNAME)

• Main Authors: Alegret, M. (Author), Alviarez-Schulze, V. (Author), Bartrés-Faz, D. (Author), Cattaneo, G. (Author), Pachón-García, C. (Author), Pascual-Leone, A. (Author), Solana-Sánchez, J. (Author), Tormos-Muñoz, J.M (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2022
• Subjects: adult; Adult; Alzheimer disease; Alzheimer Disease; Alzheimer's disease; cognitive aging; cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Episodic memory; female; Female; human; Humans; memory; Memory; memory and learning test; middle aged; Middle Aged; Names; neuropsychologic test; neuropsychological test; Neuropsychological Tests; nomenclature; validation study
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Objective: The relevance of the episodic memory in the prediction of brain aging is well known. The Face Name Associative Memory Exam (FNAME) is a valued associative memory measure related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) biomarkers, such as amyloid-β deposition preclinical AD individuals. Previous validation of the Spanish version of the FNAME test (S-FNAME) provided normative data and psychometric characteristics. The study was limited to subjects attending a memory clinic and included a reduced sample with gender inequality distribution. The purpose of this study was to assess S-FNAME psychometric properties and provide normative data in a larger independent sample of cognitively healthy individuals. Method: S-FNAME was administered to 511 cognitively healthy volunteers (242 women, aged 41-65 years) participating in the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative cohort study. Results: Factor analysis supported construct validity revealing two underlying components: face-name and face-occupation and explaining 95.34% of the total variance, with satisfactory goodness of fit. Correlations between S-FNAME and Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test were statistically significant and confirmed its convergent validity. We also found weak correlations with non-memory tests supporting divergent validity. Women showed better scores, and S-FNAME was positively correlated with education and negatively with age. Finally, we generated normative data. Conclusions: The S-FNAME test exhibits good psychometric properties, consistent with previous findings, resulting in a valid and reliable tool to assess episodic memory in cognitively healthy middle-aged adults. It is a promising test for the early detection of subtle memory dysfunction associated with abnormal brain aging. © INS. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2021.