Evaluation of the influence of illiteracy on neuropsychological performances by elderly persons.

The aim of the present study was to verify the role of the primary notions acquired in early school in the formation of a general strategy in elaboration of information. For this purpose we selected a tiny rural village in southern Italy which comprises a substantial number of elderly persons having very little formal schooling. These subjects were screened using a test battery composed of classic neuropsychological tests and reaction-time tests.