Learning and error patterns in the Chinese Verbal Learning Test in subjects with mild cognitive impairment and normal...

The discrimination between normal elderly (NC) and those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is of clinical relevance since the conversion from MCI to Alzheimer dementia (AD) is high.

This study enrolled 216 amnestic MCI patients and 103 NC from our memory clinics and assessed whether the learning curve, recall and cued scores, as well as error patterns from the Chinese Version Verbal Learning Test (CVVLT) helped to distinguish between these two groups.

Our results revealed that subjects with MCI had a lower rate of acquisition and deceleration of learning in the learning curve. The MCI group also showed a lower retention rate and recall scores as compared with the NC group. Further, the error patterns offered discrimination values between the two groups in total number of perseverations, intrusion in the cued recall, as well as prototypic and unrelated errors in recognition. An inverse correlation was seen between memory scores and error patterns.

This study suggests that by combining the learning and error patterns from the verbal memory test, patients with MCI can be better differentiated from normal elderly.