Re-Examination of the Factor Structure of the Receptive Language Scale of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery

The Receptive Language scale of the Luria--Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery assesses verbal comprehension skills ranging widely in complexity. Although a relatively complex factor structure was anticipated, a previous factor analysis of the scale revealed only one strong factor, phonemic discrimination. The present study re-examined the factor structure of the Receptive Language items using a substantially larger number of subjects with a larger proportion of brain-damaged subjects than in the earlier study. Seven major factors emerged which varied on a dimension of complexity of comprehension from phonemic discrimination through comprehension of complex grammatical relationships. Reasons for the difference in results obtained in the present study are suggested and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed.