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Specific AD impairment in concurrent performance of two memory tasks.

Sarah E MacPherson¹, Sergio Della Sala, Robert H Logie

¹Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. sarah.macpherson@ed.ac.uk

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior

|October 19, 2007

Summary

Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show significant impairments in dual-tasking, specifically when coordinating two memory tasks. Healthy adults, regardless of age, did not exhibit this dual-task deficit, suggesting a specific coordination problem in AD.

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Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Gerontology

Background:

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with cognitive decline, including working memory deficits.
Previous studies on dual-tasking in AD have faced methodological limitations regarding task specificity.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the hypothesis of a selective central executive coordination deficit in Alzheimer's disease.
To examine the impact of AD and healthy aging on dual-task performance using a verbal and visuospatial memory paradigm.

Main Methods:

The study involved 15 AD patients and 40 healthy adults (20 younger, 20 older).
Participants completed single and dual-task conditions involving digit recall, visual pattern recall, tracking, and articulatory suppression.
Task demands were individually adjusted to control for varying abilities.

Main Results:

Alzheimer's disease patients exhibited a significant impairment in dual-task performance when concurrently executing two memory tasks.
Healthy younger and older adults showed no significant disruption in dual-task performance compared to single-task conditions.
The findings suggest a specific deficit in the coordination mechanism for dual-tasking in AD.

Conclusions:

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by a specific dual-task decrement in the central executive's coordination function.
This deficit is distinct from the resources required for individual task performance.
Healthy aging does not appear to impair the ability to coordinate tasks concurrently.