Prose recall and amnesia: implications for the structure of working memory
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Updated: Oct 1, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Alan Baddeley1, Barbara A Wilson
1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, UK. alan.baddeley@bristol.ac.uk
Abstract:
Two densely amnesic patients are shown to have good immediate but poor delayed prose recall, a result that presents problems for the current multi-component model of working memory. Examination of a wide sample of memory impaired patients suggests that this pattern occurs in densely amnesic patients who have well-preserved intelligence and good executive capacities. Patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease typically show poor immediate and delayed prose recall, reflecting their combined intellectual and memory deficits. The results are interpreted in terms of a proposed new component of working memory, the episodic buffer.
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