Visual recognition memory in Alzheimer's disease: repetition-lag effects.

Full Abstract

There is considerable evidence that visual recognition memory is largely affected by Alzheimer's disease (AD). Deficits might concern the forming, maintaining, and matching of the memory representation of the visual stimulus, especially when long interitem lags occur. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of repetition lag on picture identification in mild- and moderate-AD patients, as well as in elderly controls. Participants underwent an old/new paradigm. To manipulate the temporal gradient, short and long lags were introduced between the first and second presentations. Pictures were presented at different levels of spatial filtering, following a coarse-to-fine order. This allowed for the measurement of the amount of physical information required for the identification of stimuli as a function of prior exposure and repetition lag. In the elderly, the magnitude of repetition priming did not differ as a function of interitem lag. Instead, repetition-lag effects interacted with dementia severity, and the capacity to retain memory traces for longer intervals worsened as the disease progresses. Current findings suggest that severe cortical degeneration may render AD patients unable to maintain their perceptual memories, and that dementia severity is a critical variable in the visual recognition memory assessment.

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Author information

Author/s: Viggiano, Maria Pia (MP); Galli, Giulia (G); Righi, Stefania (S); Brancati, Claudia (C); Gori, Guido (G); Cincotta, Massimo (M);

Affiliation: Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Florence, Italy.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Controlled Clinical Trial; Journal Article

Journal: Experimental aging research (Exp Aging Res), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2008 Jul-Sep; vol 34 (issue 3) : pp 267-81

Dates: Created 2008/06/23; Completed 2008/08/07;

PMID: 18568983, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Alzheimer Disease - psychology
Amnesia - psychology
Cues
Dementia - psychology
Disease Progression
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Status Schedule

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