Abstract
We tested (1) whether the PQRST method, involving Preview (P), Question (Q), Read (R), State (S), and Test (T) phases, is effective in enhancing long-term memory in patients with mild memory problems due to prefrontal cortex lesions, and (2) whether patients also benefit from a more self-initiated version of the PQRST. Seven patients with prefrontal lesions encoded new texts under three different conditions: the Standard condition, requiring to read texts repeatedly, the PQRST-Other condition, in which the experimenter formulated questions about the text (Q phase), and the PQRST-Self condition, in which patients formulated the relevant questions on their own. Compared to the Standard condition, both the PQRST-Other and the PQRST-Self condition resulted in higher immediate and delayed recall rates, as well as a higher ability to answer questions about the texts. Importantly, the two PQRST conditions did not differ in efficacy. These results confirm that the PQRST method is effective in improving learning of new material in brain-injured populations with mild memory problems. Moreover, they indicate that the PQRST proves effective even under conditions with higher demands on patients’ autonomy and self-initiation, which encourages its application to real-life situations.
Highlights
Long-term memory disorders are among the most challenging cognitive impairments following acquired brain damage, and may have a profound impact on patients’ daily living, ranging from minimal forgetfulness to a pervasive inability to learn new information and cope with life demands
For the PQRSTSelf condition, we evaluated the frequency of correct answers given to the other-generated questions
Free Recall An analysis of variance (ANOVA) on free recall rates with Test and Condition (PQRST-Other, PQRST-Self, Standard) as within-subject factors showed a significant effect of Test [F(1,6) = 11.72, p = 0.01], such that participants recalled more units at the immediate compared to the delayed test, and a significant effect of Condition [F(2,12) = 7.71, p = 0.007]
Summary
Long-term memory disorders are among the most challenging cognitive impairments following acquired brain damage, and may have a profound impact on patients’ daily living, ranging from minimal forgetfulness to a pervasive inability to learn new information and cope with life demands. For this reason, there is great interest in developing methods aimed at restoring or compensating memory impairment. Prefrontal cortex may assist encoding operations by favoring selection of goal-relevant incoming information (Otten et al, 2001; Badre and Wagner, 2007; Blumenfeld and Ranganath, 2007) and its meaningful organization in working memory (Fletcher and Henson, 2001; Blumenfeld and Ranganath, 2007). Prefrontal cortex may support selection of relevant memories according to retrieval goals
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