Linguistics Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Linguistics, including details on human language, phonetics, syntax, phonology.

Gist memory in Alzheimer's disease: evidence from categorized pictures.

Budson AE, Todman RW, Schacter DL

Geriatric Research Education Clinical Center, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA 01730, USA. abudson@bu.edu

The authors investigated gist memory (the general meaning, idea, or gist conveyed by a collection of items) for categorized color photographs in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) using an experimental paradigm in which participants are instructed to respond "yes" when a test item fits with a previously studied category, regardless of whether the specific item was actually studied. Compared with controls, the patients endorsed fewer studied items and similar numbers of nonstudied lure items. After the authors corrected for the baseline false-alarm rate, the patients showed a lower level of endorsements for nonstudied lure items compared with that of controls, suggesting that their gist memory is impaired. Implications of these findings for understanding gist memory and response bias in patients with AD are discussed.

Published 7 February 2006 in Neuropsychology, 20(1): 113-22.
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