A – 54 Lexicol Production and It's Effect on the Reynold's Interference Test

Objective The Reynolds Interference Test (RIT) is a Stroop-style measure of complex processing speed and cognitive flexibility evaluating interference control across verbal and spatial domains (Reynolds & Horton, 2021). Compared to the classic Stroop, which primarily assesses verbal response inhibition, the RIT provides a broader assessment of executive function. Semantic and phonemic fluency tasks—requiring verbal retrieval, cognitive flexibility, and executive control—are associated with prefrontal cortex activity. Prior research demonstrates moderate correlations between semantic fluency and Stroop performance (Mano et al., 2017), suggesting similar relationships should exist with the RIT, which shares neural mechanisms involving the anterior cingulate cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Friedman & Robbins, 2022). This study evaluates the relationship between lexical fluency and RIT performance in a pediatric sample. Method Archival data was obtained from outpatient neuropsychology clinics in Louisville, Kentucky between 2022-2024. After record review, 47 patients (ages 7-16) completed measures of phonemic fluency, semantic fluency, and the RIT. Results Pearson correlations revealed a significant positive relationship between semantic fluency and the RIT Color-Word Interference condition (r(45) = 0.638, p < .001, 95% CI [0.44, 0.78]). No significant relationships were found between semantic fluency and the Object Interference (r = 0.158, p = .290) or TCI (r = 0.209, p = .159). Phonemic fluency was not significantly correlated with any RIT condition. Conclusion Results indicated Semantic fluency, but not phonemic fluency, was significantly associated with verbal interference resolution on the RIT, suggesting shared reliance on prefrontal executive systems involved in language-based cognitive control.