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Classical conditioning in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a multiday study
P R Solomon1, M Brett, M E Groccia-Ellison
1Department of Psychology, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA.
Psychology and Aging
|June 1, 1995
Summary
Alzheimer's disease patients can learn conditioned responses with extended training. Initially impaired, patients matched controls after four days, suggesting learning capacity improves over time.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neurology
Background:
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive decline, including impaired learning.
- Previous research indicated AD patients fail to acquire classically conditioned eyeblink responses after one session.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if Alzheimer's disease patients can acquire conditioned eyeblink responses with extended training over four days.
- To explore the neurobiological underpinnings of conditioning deficits in AD.
Main Methods:
- A four-day classical conditioning paradigm was used to test Alzheimer's disease patients and age-matched controls.
- Non-associative variables (stimulus sensitivity, motor response) and alternative learning paradigms (unpaired, pseudoconditioning, sensitization) were assessed.
Main Results:
- Alzheimer's disease patients showed significant impairment on Day 1 but no significant difference from controls by Day 4.
- Results were not attributable to non-associative factors or sensitization/pseudoconditioning.
- No group demonstrated acquisition in the explicitly unpaired paradigm.
Conclusions:
- Alzheimer's disease patients demonstrate the capacity for classical eyeblink conditioning with sufficient training.
- Findings suggest that the hippocampus may play a crucial role in mediating conditioning deficits observed in Alzheimer's disease.