Abstract
Research on memory rehabilitation started with the assumption that impaired memory (consolidation) cannot be cured and that therefore the primary goal of rehabilitation is compensation. Starting with Barbara Wilson's work on mnemonics in memory-impaired patients, a series of studies showed that teaching patients visual imagery and story generation as compensatory mnemonics can be effective in improving encoding if the patients are only mildly impaired. Based on the work of Cermak, Butters, and Moreines (1974), another starting point was to focus on deep encoding and transfer appropriate processing. Thus, these latter studies also concentrated on retrieval, not only on encoding. Several studies showed that it is possible to train the principles of deep encoding and transfer appropriate processing and to enhance memory performance even in patients with a moderate degree of memory impairment. More recent research with amnesic patients showed that the sharp distinction between encoding, consolidation, and retrieval may be misleading. This is because deep encoding also plays a role in working memory, and semantic interference may increase forgetting even after encoding has been consciously finished (i.e., during consolidation). Therefore, adding working memory training to semantic structuring (deep encoding) seems to be a promising method to increase memory performance in patients with mild to moderate impairment. The parallel development of memory models that emphasize recollection and familiarity as the main processes to retrieve information from memory, combined with the well-known efficacy of spaced retrieval for enhancing memory performance led to memory rehabilitation efforts that are not based on specific cognitive strategies but on brute force recollection training. Although such studies using the repetition lag procedure showed some success, repeated drilling and practicing has yet to be shown as an effective restitution training strategy.
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