In addition, MND and PPA patients performed further neuropsychological tests as previously described and reported in Supplementary Tables 1, 2, respectively. The following cognitive functions were also investigated, as previously described : global cognitive functioning with the MMSE and the frontal assessment battery (FAB) long and short term verbal memory with the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and the digit span forward, respectively long and short term spatial memory with the recall and recognition of the Benson's complex figure and the spatial span forward executive functions with the digit span backward, and the Modified Card Sorting Test theory of mind with the Story-based Empathy Task (SET) language with the token test, and phonemic fluency tests visuospatial abilities with the copy of the Benson's complex figure, and the copy of drawings without landmarks, and the presence of behavioral disturbances with the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI), and the frontal behavioral battery (FBI) administered to patients' caregivers. We provide correction grids for age and literacy that derive from results of the regression analyses. The results show a decremental effect of age on performance in all tasks and an ameliorative effect of education in all tasks except the Corsi span backwards. Here, we report normative data on the forward and backward versions of the Digit span and Corsi span tasks that was collected from 362 healthy Italians ranging in age from 20 to 90 years. The backward versions of both tasks, in which sequences of items have to be reproduced in the reverse order, are believed to primarily tax Central Executive resources. the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad for verbal and visuo-spatial data, respectively).

Forward versions of these tasks, in which sequences of items of increasing length have to be reproduced in the order they were presented, are believed to primarily evaluate the functioning of the working memory material-specific slave systems (i.e.

The Digit span and Corsi span tasks are frequently used to assess verbal and visuo-spatial short-term memory.

Forward and backward digit span test