Examining the relationship between WAIS-III premorbid intellectual functioning and WMS-III memory ability to evaluate...

The purpose of this study was to extend previous research by Lange and Chelune (2006) by evaluating the clinical utility of GAI-memory discrepancy scores to detect memory impairment using estimated premorbid GAI scores (i.e., GAI-E) rather than obtained GAI scores. Participants were 34 patients with Alzheimer's-type dementia and a sub-sample of 34 demographically matched participants from the WAIS-III/WMS-III standardization sample. GAI-memory discrepancy scores were more effective at differentiating Alzheimer's patients versus healthy controls when using estimated premorbid GAI scores than obtained GAI scores. However, GAI(E)-memory discrepancy scores failed to provide unique interpretive information beyond that which is gained from interpretation of the memory index scores alone. This was most likely due to the prevalence of obvious memory impairment in this patient population. Future research directions are discussed.