Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Interference and Decay01:16

Interference and Decay

Forgetting is a complex cognitive phenomenon influenced by several factors, among which interference and decay are particularly prominent. These processes explain why individuals often struggle to retrieve specific information from memory, leading to lapses in recall that can be observed in everyday situations.
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction01:29

Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction

Alzheimer disease is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia in older adults. It leads to gradual neuronal loss, causing cognitive decline, behavioral changes, and loss of functional independence.Risk Factors and EtiologyThe disease is multifactorial. Age is the strongest risk factor, with prevalence doubling every 5 years after age 65. Genetic factors include mutations in genes such as APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, which are associated...
Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
Forgetting01:21

Forgetting

Forgetting is an intrinsic aspect of human memory, characterized by the gradual loss or inaccessibility of information over time. Hermann Ebbinghaus, a pioneering psychologist, extensively studied this phenomenon and formulated the forgetting curve. This curve illustrates that memory loss occurs rapidly immediately after learning and then decelerates over time. Several mechanisms contribute to forgetting, including encoding failure, storage decay, retrieval failure, and interference.
Encoding...
Cognitive Development During Adulthood01:30

Cognitive Development During Adulthood

Cognitive development continues throughout adulthood, undergoing significant shifts across early, middle, and late stages. Individual transition occurs from adolescent idealism to pragmatic and adaptable thinking in early adulthood. During this period, individuals learn to integrate personal beliefs with the recognition that other perspectives are equally valid. Exposure to the complexities of modern society, diverse experiences, and higher education contribute to this adaptive thought process,...
Dementia l: Introduction01:22

Dementia l: Introduction

Dementia is an acquired, progressive syndrome characterized by a decline in multiple cognitive domains severe enough to impair daily functioning and reduce independence. Although memory loss is a central feature, the diagnosis requires additional deficits involving language, executive function, visuospatial skills, judgment, calculation, or abstract reasoning. These cognitive impairments reflect underlying neurodegenerative or vascular processes that gradually disrupt neuronal networks...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Genome-Wide Association Analysis of the Sense of Smell in U.S. Older Adults: Identification of Novel Risk Loci in African-Americans and European-Americans.

Molecular neurobiology·2016
Same author

Presynaptic proteins complexin-I and complexin-II differentially influence cognitive function in early and late stages of Alzheimer's disease.

Acta neuropathologica·2016
Same author

Addendum: REST and stress resistance in ageing and Alzheimer's disease.

Nature·2016
Same author

Association of cognitive activity and neurocognitive function in blacks and whites with HIV.

AIDS (London, England)·2016
Same author

The characteristics of astrocyte on Aβ clearance altered in Alzheimer's disease were reversed by anti-inflammatory agent (+)-2-(1-hydroxyl-4-oxocyclohexyl) ethyl caffeate.

American journal of translational research·2016
Same author

Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association.

Nature neuroscience·2016
Same journal

Global epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Diagnostic accuracy of a two-cut-off approach using the FAQ/MMSE ratio and FAQ for clinical preselection of patients for anti-amyloid therapy.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Cancer risk and mortality in patients with multiple sclerosis in Finland: a retrospective population-based cohort study.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Visuospatial working memory in Huntington's disease: behavioural and structural brain correlates.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Characteristics and outcomes in electric scooter-related traumatic brain injuries in Helsinki.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Chronological ageing and ovarian reserve in MS: insights from anti-Müllerian hormone and disability progression.

Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

Loss of basic lexical knowledge in old age.

Robert S Wilson1, Kristin R Krueger, Patricia A Boyle

  • 1Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, 600 South Paulina Ave, Suite 1038, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. rwilson@rush.edu

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
|August 31, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Neuropathological changes in dementia significantly impair word knowledge, even in mild cases. This decline challenges the use of vocabulary tests to assess cognitive ability before illness onset.

More Related Videos

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
04:30

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing

Published on: October 25, 2019

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing
04:30

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing

Published on: October 25, 2019

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents
09:01

The Double-H Maze: A Robust Behavioral Test for Learning and Memory in Rodents

Published on: July 8, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Gerontology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Lexical skills are thought to be preserved in mild dementia, but research findings are inconsistent.
  • Investigating the relationship between neuropathology and word knowledge decline in aging individuals is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine how neuropathological changes associated with dementia affect word knowledge in older adults.
  • To determine if word knowledge tests accurately reflect premorbid cognitive ability in the presence of dementia-related brain changes.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of over 400 older adults with annual cognitive evaluations for up to 15 years.
  • Cognitive assessment included word reading and vocabulary tests, forming a composite word knowledge measure.
  • Post-mortem brain autopsies quantified Alzheimer's disease pathology, cerebral infarctions, and Lewy bodies.

Main Results:

  • Higher levels of Alzheimer's disease pathology correlated with a faster decline in word knowledge.
  • Neocortical Lewy bodies and gross cerebral infarctions were associated with accelerated word knowledge decline.
  • Vocabulary decline was particularly affected by gross cerebral infarction, while word reading was less impacted.

Conclusions:

  • Common neuropathological changes in dementia negatively impact word knowledge in older age.
  • Relying solely on word knowledge tests may overestimate premorbid cognitive function in individuals with dementia.
  • Further research is needed to refine cognitive assessment tools for aging populations with potential neuropathology.