Abstract

There is abundant evidence that memory impairment in dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is related to explicit, conscious forms of memory, whereas implicit, unconscious forms of memory function remain relatively intact or are less severely affected. Only a few studies have been performed on spatial memory function in AD, showing that AD patients’ explicit spatial memory is impaired, possibly related to hippocampal dysfunction. However, studies on implicit spatial memory in AD are lacking. The current study set out to investigate implicit and explicit spatial memory in AD patients (n = 18) using an ecologically valid computer task, in which participants had to remember the locations of various objects in common rooms. The contribution of implicit and explicit memory functions was estimated by means of the process dissociation procedure. The results show that explicit spatial memory is impaired in AD patients compared with a control group (n = 21). However, no group difference was found on implicit spatial function. This indicates that spared implicit memory in AD extends to the spatial domain, while the explicit spatial memory function deteriorates. Clinically, this finding might be relevant, in that an intact implicit memory function might be helpful in overcoming problems in explicit processing.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.