Content- and Context-related Memory in Patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's disease
Date Issued
2015
Date
2015
Author(s)
Lin, Yu-Chen
Abstract
Background: Alzheimer''s disease is the most common form of dementia. Impairments in content and context memory are often seen in patients with Alzheimer''s disease. However, few studies have investigated this issue. Moreover, studies have shown that the deterioration of content and context memory are associated with the neuropathology of Alzheimer''s disease. These two aspects of memory are associated with the mesial temporal structures, and, in addition, the context memory is also associated with the prefrontal lobe. Furthermore, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is seen as the prodromal stage of Alzheimer''s disease, and patients with single domain aMCI plus executive function impairment are often seen in clinics. Therefore, to improve early detection of this devastating disease and the development of memory rehabilitation plan, it is important to understand the degenerative pattern of these two aspects of memory in patients with aMCI and Alzheimer''s disease. Objective: The aim in this study was to measure content and context memory in patients with single domain amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI-s) including those with and without executive function impairment, and in patients with Alzheimer''s disease. Method: This retrospective study included 38 patients with single domain aMCI, 34 patients with single domain aMCI plus executive function impairment, and 36 patients with Alzheimer''s disease. Thirty-eight healthy controls were also included. Modified Family Pictures subtest performance was assessed and compared across the four groups. Results: Content memory began to decline in the early stages of Alzheimer''s disease while the deterioration of context memory paralleled that of executive function. Conclusion: The context memory performances of patients with aMCI might be heterogeneous. Determining whether a given patient has deficits in context memory has clinical utility for the development of individual memory rehabilitation. However, imaging and longitudinal studies in patients with aMCI and Alzheimer''s disease are still needed.
Subjects
content memory
context memory
mild cognitive impairment
Type
thesis
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Loading...
Name
ntu-104-R00227209-1.pdf
Size
23.54 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum
(MD5):00e3abb7f8a5419de934a9d3154b7a0f