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S3‐02‐02: A cognitive profile in less than 5 minutes of clinician time?
Author(s) -
Schofield Peter W.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2010.05.377
Subject(s) - task (project management) , cognition , cognitive psychology , set (abstract data type) , psychology , verbal fluency test , neuropsychological assessment , psychomotor learning , fluency , neuropsychology , test (biology) , cognitive test , dementia , normative , computer science , medicine , psychiatry , paleontology , philosophy , mathematics education , management , disease , epistemology , pathology , economics , biology , programming language
Results: In a replication of previous work, metamemory varied significantly as a function of clinically rated awareness in AD. Neither variable was related to dementia severity or verbal memory, but both correlated with nonverbal memory. Preliminary data suggest that requiring retrospective evaluation of memory responses, or providing feedback regarding memory accuracy can improve metamemory. Finally, in a second task validation study, metamemory was associated with another aspect of self-assessment (agency), and this relationship could not be accounted for by primary cognitive abilities or participant characteristics. Conclusions: Findings from individuals with AD and healthy elders converge to suggest that metamemory testing may offer an objective, reliable, and useful means of quantifying and studying memory awareness in AD. Manipulating the parameters of the metamemory test has the potential to provide detailed information about the nature of awareness deficits. Finally, preliminary data points to an association between memory awareness and nonverbal memory abilities in AD. The implications of this association for investigating the etiology of disrupted self-awareness will be discussed.