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Updated: Aug 26, 2026

Examining the Characteristics of Episodic Memory using Event-related Potentials in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease
Published on: August 30, 2011
Visual processing impairments and decrements in regional brain activity in Alzheimer's disease
Salina J van Rhijn1, Guila Glosser, Jeroen J de Vries
1Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Abstract:
The relationships between intermediate visual processes, involving object and space perception, and regional brain activity using positron emission tomography and single photon emission tomography were investigated in 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease. Significant region specific correlations were found between unfamiliar face matching and cerebral activity in the left occipito-temporal region and middle/inferior temporal regions bilaterally. Letter-word identification correlated significantly with brain activity in the angular gyri and occipital association cortices bilaterally, as well as a broad region of activation in the left hemisphere temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. Additionally, a significant correlation was found between ratings of performance of instrumental activities of daily living and brain activity in occipito-temporal and middle/inferior temporal regions. The present study demonstrates that the neuropathological distribution typically seen in Alzheimer's disease corresponds to impairments in specific aspects of intermediate visual perceptual processing, and it is related to the daily living skills of patients with Alzheimer's disease.
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