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Temporal memory for remote events in healthy aging and dementia
M Storandt1, B Kaskie, D D Von Dras
1Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130-4899, USA. mstorand@artsci.wustl.edu
Psychology and Aging
|April 9, 1998
Summary
Alzheimer
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Gerontology
Background:
- Memory for temporal order is crucial for understanding event sequences.
- Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder impacting memory.
- The effects of early-stage AD on remote temporal memory are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate temporal ordering memory in early-stage dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT).
- To examine serial-position effects in remote memory for individuals with DAT and healthy older adults.
Main Methods:
- Participants included healthy older adults and individuals with early-stage DAT.
- Memory for the term of office of 7 U.S. presidents was assessed.
- Serial-position effects for temporal order were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Both healthy adults and individuals with DAT exhibited bow-shaped serial-position effects for temporal order.
- Temporal ordering accuracy decreased with increased DAT severity.
- Early-stage DAT impacts the memory of temporal information.
Conclusions:
- Dementia of the Alzheimer type affects remote temporal memory even in its initial stages.
- Existing theoretical models of serial-position effects should incorporate remote memory.
- Further research is needed to understand the full scope of memory deficits in DAT.