Task decomposition analysis of intertrial free recall performance on the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test in normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Task decomposition provides supplementary data that complement traditionally computed performance indexes of multi-trial list learning. Both traditional and decomposition approaches can be combined to permit a thorough assessment of multiple aspects of learning and memory in patients with memory impairment. We applied task decomposition to investigate the relative roles of acquisition and consolidation in mediating the multi-trial learning deficit in patients with Alzheimer's disease. This goal was accomplished by decomposing recall performance across the five study-and-test trials of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Tests into measures that presumably tap intertrial acquisition and intertrial consolidation. As compared to matched controls, patients diagnosed with mild Alzheimer's disease showed lower gained access across trials, indicating that Alzheimer's disease impairs the ability to produce a stable memory representation of new material in long-term memory. Additionally, patients with Alzheimer's disease manifested higher lost access, which suggests that deficient consolidation leading to rapid intertrial forgetting also contributes to their poor learning. We argue that analytically decomposing learning curves will help both in uncovering the cognitive processes that underlie disease-related learning deficits in persons with memory disorders and can help to characterize potential areas for remediation.

[1]  O. Spreen,et al.  A Compendium of Neuropsychological Tests: Administration, Norms, and Commentary , 1991 .

[2]  R. Mohs,et al.  Consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease (CERAD) clinical and neuropsychological assessment of Alzheimer's disease. , 2002, Psychopharmacology bulletin.

[3]  H. Weingartner,et al.  Memory failures in progressive idiopathic dementia. , 1981, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[4]  Alex Martin,et al.  On the nature of the verbal memory deficit in Alzheimer's disease , 1985, Brain and Language.

[5]  T. Salthouse,et al.  A decomposition of age-related differences in multitrial free recall , 1996 .

[6]  H. Buschke,et al.  Cued recall in amnesia. , 1984, Journal of clinical neuropsychology.

[7]  P. Eslinger,et al.  Verbal memory decline in Alzheimer's disease , 1989, Neurology.

[8]  Herman Buschke,et al.  Selective reminding for analysis of memory and learning , 1973 .

[9]  M. Albert,et al.  Differential patterns of memory loss among patients with Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, and alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome. , 1986, Archives of neurology.

[10]  D. Delis,et al.  Processes of verbal memory failure in alzheimer-type dementia , 1985, Brain and Cognition.

[11]  M. Nissen,et al.  Selective attention in Alzheimer's disease: Characterizing cognitive subgroups of patients , 1989, Neuropsychologia.

[12]  C. Randolph,et al.  The Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS): preliminary clinical validity. , 1998, Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology.

[13]  A. Cronin-Golomb.  Alzheimer's disease: Advances in basic research and therapies , 1988, Neuropsychologia.

[14]  J. Foster.  Selective attention in Alzheimer's disease. , 2001, Frontiers in bioscience : a journal and virtual library.

[15]  HERMAN BUSCHKE,et al.  Evaluating storage, retention, and retrieval in disordered memory and learning , 1974, Neurology.

[16]  E G Tangalos,et al.  Memory function in very early Alzheimer's disease , 1994, Neurology.

[17]  Michael D. Kopelman,et al.  Rates of forgetting in Alzheimer-type dementia and Korsakoff's syndrome , 1985, Neuropsychologia.

[18]  L. Squire,et al.  Memory dysfunction and word priming in dementia and amnesia. , 1987, Behavioral neuroscience.

[19]  C. Kawas,et al.  Learning and retention in preclinical and early Alzheimer's disease. , 1997, Psychology and aging.

[20]  N Butters,et al.  Detection and staging of dementia in Alzheimer's disease. Use of the neuropsychological measures developed for the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease. , 1992, Archives of neurology.

[21]  D. Salmon,et al.  Neuropsychological features of memory disorders in Alzheimer disease. , 1994 .

[22]  G. Loftus.  On interpretation of interactions , 1978 .

[23]  P. Satz,et al.  Performance of four age groups of normal elderly on the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. , 1991, Journal of clinical psychology.

[24]  H. Buschke,et al.  Genuine memory deficits in dementia , 1987 .

[25]  Timothy A. Salthouse,et al.  How localized are age-related effects on neuropsychological measures? , 1996 .

[26]  Michelle Butler,et al.  Neuropsychological test usage. , 1991 .

[27]  S. Harkins,et al.  Rate of forgetting in mild Alzheimer's-type dementia , 1988, Brain and Cognition.

[28]  W. Snow,et al.  Use of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test in Differentiating Normal Aging from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Dementia. , 1994 .

[29]  Learning and retention in preclinical and early Alzheimer's disease. , 1997 .

[30]  N Butters,et al.  Detection of abnormal memory decline in mild cases of Alzheimer's disease using CERAD neuropsychological measures. , 1991, Archives of neurology.

[31]  E. Vakil,et al.  Impaired learning in patients with closed-head injuries: An analysis of components of the acquisition process. , 1993 .

[32]  A. Rey.  L'examen clinique in psychologie , 1964 .

[33]  R. R. Abidin.  Psychological Assessment Resources , 1995 .

[34]  E. Tulving.  INTRATRIAL AND INTERTRIAL RETENTION: NOTES TOWARDS A THEORY OF FREE RECALL VERBAL LEARNING. , 1964, Psychological review.

[35]  M. Folstein,et al.  Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease , 1984, Neurology.

[36]  D. Delis,et al.  The California verbal learning test , 2016 .

[37]  D. Delis,et al.  Profiles of demented and amnesic patients on the California verbal learning test : implications for the assessment of memory disorders , 1991 .