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Memory profiling with paired associate learning in Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and healthy aging

K E Pike1, C C Rowe2, S A Moss1

  • 1School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine.

Neuropsychology
|November 13, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Distinguishing Alzheimer's disease (AD) from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is challenging. A novel paired associate learning (PAL) task showed memory profiling may not reliably differentiate AD progression in MCI patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neurology

Background:

  • Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) increases Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk, but many cases do not progress.
  • Memory profiling aims to predict AD development in MCI.
  • Existing paired associate learning (PAL) tasks lack memory profiling capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop and validate a novel PAL task for memory profiling.
  • To differentiate memory profiles in individuals with AD, MCI, and healthy controls.
  • To assess the clinical utility of memory profiling for AD diagnosis and MCI assessment.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a novel PAL task.
  • Testing the task in participants with AD (n=19), amnestic MCI (n=17), and normal elderly controls (n=33).
  • Analysis of memory profiles (encoding vs. retrieval) across different recognition formats and a validated verbal learning test.

Main Results:

  • The AD group unexpectedly showed a retrieval profile for PAL with yes-no recognition.
  • An encoding profile was observed in the AD group for forced-choice recognition and the California Verbal Learning Test.
  • Significant heterogeneity and intraindividual discordance in memory profiles were found within AD and MCI groups.

Conclusions:

  • Memory profiling using PAL tasks may not be clinically applicable for differentiating AD progression in MCI.
  • The findings challenge the diagnostic utility of memory profiling in AD and MCI assessment.
  • Heterogeneity in memory profiles complicates the use of this method for differential diagnosis.

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