Normative data for the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test in the elderly Italian population.

The Pyramids and Palm Tree Test (PPT) is a semantic memory test that measures the capacity to access detailed semantic information about words and pictures, necessary for the identification of the analogies, which link conceptually two perceptually, and functionally distinct entities. The present study aimed to provide normative data on a large sample of the elderly Italian population (N = 464; range of age = 49-94; range of education = 3-25) on both the word and the picture versions of the PPT. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that both age and education were significant predictors of performance in both the word and the picture versions of the PPT. Therefore, norms were calculated taking into account these demographic variables. The availability of normative data based on a large sample will allow a more reliable use of the PPT for clinical assessment in Italian-speaking dementia population.