Open AccessThe effects of interference on verbal learning in multiple sclerosis
Author(s) -
Frederick L. Coolidge,
Patricia A. Middleton,
Jacqueline A. Griego,
Michael Schmidt
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
archives of clinical neuropsychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 1873-5843
pISSN - 0887-6177
DOI - 10.1016/0887-6177(95)00047-x
Subject(s) - recall , psychology , cued recall , recall test , encoding (memory) , verbal memory , audiology , task (project management) , verbal learning , cognitive psychology , california verbal learning test , free recall , interference theory , cognition , developmental psychology , medicine , working memory , neuroscience , management , economics
Thirty multiple sclerosis (MS) patients were compared with 30 matched (age and education) controls and were asked to learn and recall 20 target words that were placed among 24 distracter words. Targets and distracters were printed on different colored cards, and the subjects were asked to read each word aloud and recall the target words. This task was repeated four times. The MS patients recalled significantly fewer words across the four trials. A second list without distracters was presented for two trials, and there were no significant differences between the groups' recall. Subsequent recall (short delay and long delay) for List 1 revealed significantly poorer recall for the MS group and significantly poorer cued recall but not recognition memory. Retrieval processes were implicated such as source memory, or contextual stamping, rather than encoding mechanisms.