[Memory evaluation using functional magnetic resonance: applications in preoperative patients and in Alzheimer s...

The assessment of memory functions related to medial temporal lobe has become one of the most important issues on current neuropsychology. On this communication, we review the results which our research group has achieved using two functional magnetic resonance Image procedures to assess memory function: Hometown walking task and an encoding/retrieval task using complex images. Nine patients with tumoural temporal lesions performed the hometown walking task. The results of these patients showed either a bilateral or contralesional representation of memory function. These results confirm those obtained by Jokeit, Okujava y Woermann (2001), and they seem to prove that this protocol is useful to determine the preservation of memory function in the non damaged hemisphere. On the other hand, the images encoding/retrieval task has been run by two groups of four patients diagnosed as Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment, and another group of five patients who participated as a control group. According to our hypothesis, the results have shown a lower activation at the left parahippocampal gyrus in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease patients than controls, just as a lower bilateral activation in the same structure for the Alzheimer group than the control group. As a whole, our results show how important may become functional magnetic resonance image for neuropsychological assessment of memory, and as a diagnostic tool for CNS diseases.