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Verbal Serial List Learning in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Profile Analysis of Interference, Forgetting, and Errors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2011

David J. Libon*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mark W. Bondi
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, California and the Psychology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California
Catherine C. Price
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
Melissa Lamar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois
Joel Eppig
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Denene M. Wambach
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Christine Nieves
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lisa Delano-Wood
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, California and the Psychology Service, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California
Tania Giovannetti
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Carol Lippa
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Anahid Kabasakalian
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, Drexel University, College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Stephanie Cosentino
Affiliation:
Gertrude H. Segievsky Center, Department of Neurology, Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, NY, New York
Rod Swenson
Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, North Dakota Medical School, Fargo, North Dakota
Dana L. Penney
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, The Lahey Clinic, Burlington, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to: David J. Libon, Department of Neurology, Drexel University College of Medicine, 245 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA. 19013. E-mail: dlibon@drexelmed.edu.

Abstract

Using cluster analysis Libon et al. (2010) found three verbal serial list-learning profiles involving delay memory test performance in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Amnesic MCI (aMCI) patients presented with low scores on delay free recall and recognition tests; mixed MCI (mxMCI) patients scored higher on recognition compared to delay free recall tests; and dysexecutive MCI (dMCI) patients generated relatively intact scores on both delay test conditions. The aim of the current research was to further characterize memory impairment in MCI by examining forgetting/savings, interference from a competing word list, intrusion errors/perseverations, intrusion word frequency, and recognition foils in these three statistically determined MCI groups compared to normal control (NC) participants. The aMCI patients exhibited little savings, generated more highly prototypic intrusion errors, and displayed indiscriminate responding to delayed recognition foils. The mxMCI patients exhibited higher saving scores, fewer and less prototypic intrusion errors, and selectively endorsed recognition foils from the interference list. dMCI patients also selectively endorsed recognition foils from the interference list but performed similarly compared to NC participants. These data suggest the existence of distinct memory impairments in MCI and caution against the routine use of a single memory test score to operationally define MCI. (JINS, 2011, 17, 905–914)

Type
Regular Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The International Neuropsychological Society 2011

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