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The Modality Effect on Delayed Free Recall in Non-demented Patients With Mild Parkinson's Disease Progression
Constantinos Kormas1, Ioannis Zalonis1, Ioannis Evdokimidis1
1First Department of Neurology, Aeginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Abstract:
Background: The modality effect plays the central role in learning and memory functions. Retrieval failure constitutes a common memory impairment that occurs among patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, little knowledge exists about the relation between modality effect and delayed recall impairment in PD. The primary goal of this study was to compare delayed free recall performance between three different memory modalities (verbal, visual, and cross visual-verbal) in a sample of non-demented patients with mild PD progression. The secondary goal was to explore the frequency of deficient performance on the basis of normative comparisons on each of the three delayed free-recall measures. Method: A total of 71 non-demented patients with mild PD progression were recruited for the administration of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT), the Rey Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCFT), and the Greek Version of Face-Name Associative Memory Examination (GR-FNAME12). Results: The percentages of deficient-performances for the three delayed free recall measures were 45.1% (32/71), 39.4% (28/71) and 31% (22/71) for the GR-FNAME12, ROFCT and RAVLT, respectively. The results indicated no significant difference between performances of the GR-FNAME12 and ROCFT, both of which were significantly lower than performance on the RAVLT. Conclusions: In conclusion, delayed free recall appears to be more severely affected in the cross visual-verbal and visual memory modalities than in verbal-memory modalities in the early phase of PD progression.
Insights
Patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD) show greater impairment in delayed free recall for visual and cross visual-verbal memory compared to verbal memory. This highlights modality-specific memory deficits in PD progression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- The modality effect is crucial for learning and memory.
- Retrieval failure is a common memory issue in Parkinson's disease (PD).
- The relationship between modality effect and delayed recall in PD is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare delayed free recall performance across verbal, visual, and cross visual-verbal memory modalities in non-demented PD patients.
- To determine the frequency of performance deficits in these modalities based on normative data.
Main Methods:
- 71 non-demented patients with mild PD progression were assessed.
- Cognitive function was evaluated using MoCA, RAVLT, ROCFT, and GR-FNAME12.
- Delayed free recall performance was measured for auditory-verbal, visual, and visual-verbal associative memory.
Main Results:
- Deficient performance rates were 45.1% (GR-FNAME12), 39.4% (ROCFT), and 31% (RAVLT).
- Visual and cross visual-verbal recall (GR-FNAME12, ROCFT) were significantly more impaired than verbal recall (RAVLT).
- No significant difference was found between visual and cross visual-verbal recall performances.
Conclusions:
- Delayed free recall is more affected in visual and cross visual-verbal modalities than verbal modalities in early PD.
- These findings suggest modality-specific memory impairments in the early stages of Parkinson's disease.