DOUBLE DISSOCIATION OF SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM MEMORY FOR NONVERBAL MATERIAL IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE AND GLOBAL AMNESIA

Abstract

The traditional concept of memory disorder is deficiency of the long-term (LTM) but not short-term (STM) component of memory. STM impairment with LTM sparing is seldom reported. The present study investigated STM and LTM for nonverbal material in three neurological conditions associated with memory impairment: bilateral medial temporal lobe lesions (patient H.M.), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Subjects received 3 tests of nonverbal memory: forward block span, immediate and delayed recall of the Wechsler Memory Scale drawings, and immediate and delayed recognition of abstract designs. Compared with the normal control group, the patient groups displayed different patterns of sparing and loss of the two components of memory: in PD, only STM was impaired; in medial temporal lobe amnesia, only LTM was impaired; and in AD, STM and LTM were both impaired. The contrasting patterns of sparing and loss of STM and LTM in PD and global amnesia were present for both recognition and recall. These results provide evidence that STM and LTM are dissociable processes and are served by separate neurological systems: STM depends upon intact corticostriatal systems, whereas LTM depends upon intact medial temporal lobe systems.