Everyday Memory Failures Research Articles

Feasibility and effectiveness of computerised cognitive training for memory dysfunction following stroke: A series of single case studies

ABSTRACTComputerised cognitive training (CCT) approaches to memory rehabilitation represent an attractive alternative to traditional approaches; however, there is limited empirical evidence to support their use. An AB with follow up single case design was repeated across five participants to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of CCT on subjective memory in patients with stroke. Target behaviour was subjective everyday and prospective memory failures which were assessed weekly. Following baseline (three weeks), participants completed six weeks of LumosityTM training in their homes. Data were analysed visually and statistically. The frequency of prospective memory failures decreased during intervention for one participant, while the frequency of prospective and everyday memory failures decreased significantly during the follow up period for another participant. Yet, significantly more everyday and prospective memory failures were reported following training by one study participant. No significant change in subjective memory ratings was found for remaining participants. Regarding secondary outcomes, meaningful changes on objective measures of memory were not observed, despite considerable inter-individual variability. Three participants reported improvement in individualised memory goals, while two participants described a decline. Overall, LumosityTM training appears feasible; however, no consistent evidence to support effectiveness of this CCT on subjective or objective memory was found.

Memory complaints in subjective cognitive impairment, amnestic mild cognitive impairment and mild Alzheimer's disease.

Memory complaints are a frequent phenomenon in elderly individuals and can lead to opportunistic help-seeking behavior. The aim of this study was to compare different aspects of memory complaints (i.e., prospective versus retrospective complaints) in individuals with subjective cognitive impairment (SCI), amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study included a total of 115 participants (mean age: 68.82±8.83years) with SCI (n=34), aMCI (n=46), and mild AD (n=35). Memory complaints were assessed using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), which consists of 16 items that describe everyday memory failure of both prospective memory (PM) and retrospective memory (RM). For aMCI and AD subjects, informants also completed an informant-rating of the PRMQ. All participants completed detailed neuropsychological tests. Results show that PM complaints were equivalent among the three groups. However, RM complaints differed. Specifically, RM complaints in aMCI were higher than SCI, but similar to AD. Informant-reported memory complaints were higher for AD than aMCI. Our study suggests that RM complaints of memory complaints may be helpful in discriminating between SCI and aMCI, but both PM and RM complaints are of limited value in differentiating aMCI from AD.

Subjective memory complaints, depressive symptoms and instrumental activities of daily living in mild cognitive impairment.

The diagnostic relevance of subjective memory complaints (SMCs) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains to be unresolved. The aim of this study is to determine clinical correlates of SMCs in MCI. Furthermore, we examined whether there are the differences due to different aspects of complaints (i.e. prospective memory (PM) versus retrospective memory (RM) complaints). We examined the cross-sectional associations between SMCs and depressive symptoms, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and cognitive measures in sixty-six individuals with MCI (mean age: 65.7 ± 8.01 years). The criteria for MCI included SMCs, objective cognitive impairment, normal general cognitive function, largely intact functional activities, and absence of dementia. SMCs were assessed using the Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ), which contains 16 items describing everyday memory failure of both PM and RM. SMC severity (i.e. PRMQ total score) was associated with stronger depressive symptoms and worse IADL performance. SMCs were not related to cognitive measures. For PM and RM subscores, both depressive symptoms and IADL were related to the PRMQ-PM and -RM scores. The main contributors to these PM and RM scores were depressive symptoms and IADL impairment, respectively. This study suggests that SMCs are more associated with depressive symptoms and IADL problems than with cognitive performance in individuals with MCI. Furthermore, while PM and RM complaints are related to both depressive symptoms and IADL, the differences between these main contributors suggest that RM complaints based on IADL could be more associated with the organically driven pathological features of MCI.

Self-Reported Memory Failures: Associations with Future Dementia in a Population-Based Study with Long-Term Follow-Up.

To examine the association between self-reported memory failures and incident dementia in individuals aged 60 and older. Longitudinal, community based. Betula Prospective Cohort Study, a population-based study in Umeå, Sweden. Individuals with a mean age of 71.5 ± 8.8 (range 60-90) (N = 1,547). Participants rated the frequency of everyday memory failures using the 16-item Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire (PRMQ) and underwent objective memory testing at baseline. Participant self-reports of complaints of poor memory by family and friends were evaluated. Dementia status was followed-up for 10 to 12 years. Over the study period, 225 participants developed dementia (132 with Alzheimer's disease (AD)). In Cox proportional hazard regression models adjusted for demographic factors, PRMQz-scores predicted incident dementia (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.21 for all-cause dementia; HR = 1.25 for AD, Ps < .01). The significant associations remained when depressive symptoms and objective memory performance were adjusted for, when low performers on objective memory (≥1 standard deviations below the age group mean) were excluded, and in analyses with delayed entry (survival time ≥ 5 years). Similar patterns were observed for the prospective and retrospective subscales, although including how often participants self-reported that others complained about their poor memory eliminated the association between PRMQ scores and dementia and itself emerged as a significant predictor. Self-reported memory failure predicted future dementia or AD independent of objective memory performance. Subjective reports of complaints by family and friends appear to be an even more-important indicator of preclinical impairments, and physicians should not ignore them, even in the absence of objective memory deficits.

Günlük bellek ölçeklerinin geliştirilmesi: bir faktör analizi çalışması

This research was designated to improve the tools for everyday memory measure in our country. In this respect, both five different everyday memory scales that evaluate diverse dimensions of memory and a “Multidimensional Everyday Memory Questionnaire” to be used for ample evaluations were developed. Taking the age and education variables into consideration, the data for this research were gathered from 1944 people (1319 female, 623 male) who fall into 5 different age ranges (14-19; 20-29; 30-44; 45-59; 60-85) and 3 different education levels (primary school, high school and university). The results indicate that both five different memory scales to be utilized in our country and the Multidimensional Everyday Memory Questionnaire, developed for comprehensive evaluations with its diverse sub-factors, are relevant and reliable measurement tools. In brief, the characteristics of the scales that are exploitable in everyday memory research and clinical practices are as follows: the everyday memory scale evaluates general amnesia; the Everyday Memory Compensation Scale assesses the compensation methods for remembering in everyday life; the Memory Performance Scale investigates the extent to which the individuals functionally use their memories; the Everyday Memory Failure Scale examines the frequency of memory failure experienced in everyday life; and finally, the Forward and Backward Memory Scale is a scale for evaluating the things related to past and present to be remembered. On the other hand, the Multidimensional Everyday Memory Questionnaire includes all of these scales and it is characterized by being more concise than the total of the scales and more comprehensive. In line with the literature, the analyses on the factor structures of the scales demonstrate that it comprises diverse sub-factors that enable a detailed assessment of memory. The results are discussed in relation to the dimensions obtained by previous studies that utilized similar scales.

Cuestionario de Fallos de Memoria de la Vida Cotidiana (MFE). Análisis de factores con población española.

One of the most frequently used instruments to study everyday memory failures is the Memory Failures of Everyday Questionnaire (MFE). The objectives of the present study were: a) to examine the factor structure of the MFE, and b) to explore the relationship of the resulting factors with performance in tests of objective memory (Word Lists and Family Pictures of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III) and mood state (Goldberg Depression and Anxiety Scale), as well as with two general questions about memory complaints. Data were collected from a sample of 647 young adults (19-64 years). Factor analysis revealed three factors which explained 29.3 % of the total variance: Activities Recall, Communication Monitoring, and Recognition. The first two factors showed a higher positive correlation between them and a higher association with mood state and general memory complaints. In contrast, the recognition factor shows positive correlation with age and negative with objective memory performance.

Mediation and interaction effects of doubt, dysfunctional beliefs and memory confidence on the compulsion to check

According to an integrative model of checking compulsions, experiences with prospective memory failures diminish confidence in the ability to reliably execute tasks and lead to intrusive doubts that previous tasks were not properly completed. These intrusive doubts trigger attempts to recall performing the task in question, however, diminished confidence in retrospective memory combines with dysfunctional beliefs to produce urges to check. The act of checking then has the paradoxical effects of further diminishing memory confidence and increasing perceived responsibility leading to the repetitive nature of checking compulsions (Cuttler & Taylor, 2012). Previous research has demonstrated that checking compulsions are associated with dysfunctional beliefs, diminished confidence in retrospective memory and failures of prospective memory. The present study was conducted to examine the mediation and interaction effects proposed in this model. In line with the model we find that everyday life prospective memory failures are correlated with intrusive doubts and that these doubts mediate the relationship between prospective memory failures and checking compulsions. Moreover, the results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicate that doubt interacts with dysfunctional beliefs and dysfunctional beliefs further interact with diminished confidence in memory to produce checking compulsions.

Effects of Perceived Long-Term Stress on Subjective and Objective Aspects of Memory and Cognitive Functioning in a Middle-Aged Population-Based Sample

ABSTRACT The longitudinal effects of perceived stress on measures of memory and two other cognitive functions (word fluency, visuospatial ability) in a middle-aged sample (40–60 years, M age = 47.1 years, SD = 6.1 years; n = 192) were examined. A group describing themselves as stressed in general at baseline, and at follow-up measurement 5 and 10 years later (n = 96) was compared with a matched (age, sex) low-stress group (n = 96). The results revealed more depressive symptoms over time in the high-stress group. With regard to memory, a dissociation between subjective and objective measures was observed. Specifically, participants in the high-stress group rated their memory as worse over time as compared with controls, and reported a higher frequency of occurrence of everyday memory failures, effects partly independent of depressive symptoms. However, the groups did not differ in terms of objective episodic memory performance, word fluency or block design performance, with stable levels of performance over time regardless of perceived stress. The lack of effects of stress on cognitive performance is discussed in the light of factors such as stress level, age of the participants, and other individual difference factors.

Individual differences in everyday retrospective memory failures

The present study examined individual differences in everyday retrospective memory failures. Undergraduate students completed various cognitive ability measures in the laboratory and recorded everyday retrospective memory failures in a diary over the course of a week. The majority of memory failures were forgetting information pertaining to exams and homework, forgetting names, and forgetting login and ID information. Using latent variable techniques the results also suggested that individual differences in working memory capacity and retrospective memory were related to some but not all everyday memory failures. Furthermore, everyday memory failures predicted SAT scores and partially accounted for the relation between cognitive abilities and SAT scores. These results provide important evidence for individual differences in everyday retrospective memory failures as well as important evidence for the ecological validity of laboratory measures of working memory capacity and retrospective memory.

The Memory Failures of Everyday (MFE) Test: Normative Data in Adults

One approach to the study of everyday memory failures is to use multiple-item questionnaires. The Memory Failures of Everyday (MFE) test is one of the most frequently used in Spain. Our objective is to provide normative data from the MFE in a sample of healthy, Spanish, adult participants for use in clinical practice. The sample consists of 647 employees at a large company ranging in age from 19-64 years-old. Everyday memory failures were evaluated by means of the MFE with the following response format: 0-2 (0 = never or rarely; 1 = occasionally, sometimes; 2 = frequently, often). Mean MFE = 15.25 (SD = 7.50), range 0-40. Correlation with age: .133 (p = .001); and with years of education: - .059 (n.s.). A constant increase in MFE was not observed across age groups (F = 4, 59; p = .003, eta2 = .02), but differences were revealed between the 19-29 and 40-49 age groups; no differences were observed between the remaining age groups. Only slight differences between men and women occurred, the women's mean being slightly higher than the men's, but the confidence intervals overlapped (F = 5, 71; p = .017, eta2 = .01). These results indicate that age, years of education, and sex had no significant effects. In light of the above, the sample was viewed as a whole when computing the percentiles reported here.

Variation in cognitive failures: An individual differences investigation of everyday attention and memory failures

The present study examined individual differences in everyday cognitive failures assessed by diaries. A large sample of participants completed various cognitive ability measures in the laboratory. Furthermore, a subset of these participants also recorded everyday cognitive failures (attention, retrospective memory, and prospective memory failures) in a diary over the course of a week. Using latent variable techniques the results suggested that individual differences in cognitive abilities (i.e., working memory, attention control, retrospective memory, and prospective memory) were related to individual differences in everyday cognitive failures. Furthermore, everyday cognitive failures predicted SAT scores and partially accounted for the relation between cognitive abilities and SAT scores. These results provide important evidence for individual differences in everyday cognitive failures as well as important evidence for the ecological validity of laboratory cognitive ability measures.

Predictors of Self-Reported Prospective and Retrospective Memory in a Population-Based Sample of Older Adults

ABSTRACT In this article, the authors examined predictors of self-reported everyday memory failures using the Prospective and Retrospective Questionnaire (PRMQ; Smith, Della Sala, Logie, & Maylor, 2000) in a population-based sample of older adults (age range = 60–90 years; N = 250). The results showed that a higher frequency of reported failures was associated with lower scores on the personality dimension of self-directedness as assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI; Cloninger, Dragan, Svrakic, & Przybeck, 1993) and more depressive symptoms on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D; Radloff, 1977). However, PRMQ scores showed no relationships with objective memory ability, as reflected by a series of retrospective memory measures and a measure of prospective memory. Neither were the PRMQ scales associated with general cognitive functioning as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE; Folstein, Folstein, & McHugh, 1977). Taken together, the results indicate that within the older population, self-reported memory as assessed by the PRMQ may reflect mood-state and personality factors rather than individual differences in memory and cognitive ability.

Predictions of verbal episodic memory in persons with Alzheimer's disease

This study examined awareness of memory problems and memory self-monitoring abilities in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Participants were 20 individuals with AD and 20 older adult controls. A global performance-prediction paradigm, which required participants to predict the number of words they would remember both prior to and after completing a list-learning memory task, was used as the online assessment measure. Offline assessment of memory involved contrasting self-ratings provided by participants about the frequency of everyday memory failures with ratings from knowledgeable informants. As expected, participants with AD demonstrated poorer recall for the word list than did controls. Participants with AD were also less accurate than controls in their preexperience memory predictions, and findings from the offline assessment method similarly revealed that the AD group overestimated their everyday memory abilities. Despite showing impaired understanding of personal memory ability, the AD group successfully modified their postexperience memory predictions so that they were more accurate following task exposure, demonstrating accurate memory self-monitoring abilities. These findings highlight the complex and multidimensional nature of metamemory. The findings further suggest that while AD patients appear able to immediately benefit from task experience, they have difficulty creating lasting awareness of memory abilities.

Everyday and prospective memory deficits in ecstasy/polydrug users

The impact of ecstasy/polydrug use on real-world memory (i.e. everyday memory, cognitive failures and prospective memory [PM]) was investigated in a sample of 42 ecstasy/polydrug users and 31 non-ecstasy users. Laboratory-based PM tasks were administered along with self-reported measures of PM to test whether any ecstasy/polydrug-related impairment on the different aspects of PM was present. Self-reported measures of everyday memory and cognitive failures were also administered. Ecstasy/polydrug associated deficits were observed on both laboratory and self-reported measures of PM and everyday memory. The present study extends previous research by demonstrating that deficits in PM are real and cannot be simply attributed to self-misperceptions. The deficits observed reflect some general capacity underpinning both time- and event-based PM contexts and are not task specific. Among this group of ecstasy/polydrug users recreational use of cocaine was also prominently associated with PM deficits. Further research might explore the differential effects of individual illicit drugs on real-world memory.

Early intervention for mild cognitive impairment: a randomised controlled trial

Background:Positive effects are reported for memory training for healthy older adults, and yet there is limited information about the benefit of cognitive intervention for older adults with increasing memory difficulties—mild...

Real-world memory and executive processes in cannabis users and non-users

The relationships between executive processes, associative learning and different aspects of real world memory functioning were explored in a sample of cannabis users and nonusers. Measures of executive component processes, associative learning, everyday memory, prospective memory, and cognitive failures were administered. Relative to nonusers, cannabis users were found to be impaired in several aspects of real world memory functioning. No other group differences were apparent. The absence of cannabis related deficits in those executive component processes and aspects of learning that are believed to support real world memory processes is surprising given that cannabis related deficits were obtained in real world memory. The present results are discussed within the context of neuroimaging evidence which suggests that cannabis users may exhibit different patterns of neural activation when performing executive tasks while not always exhibiting deficits on these tasks.

Everyday attention lapses and memory failures: The affective consequences of mindlessness

We examined the affective consequences of everyday attention lapses and memory failures. Significant associations were found between self-report measures of attention lapses (MAAS-LO), attention-related cognitive errors (ARCES), and memory failures (MFS), on the one hand, and boredom (BPS) and depression (BDI-II), on the other. Regression analyses confirmed previous findings that the ARCES partially mediates the relation between the MAAS-LO and MFS. Further regression analyses also indicated that the association between the ARCES and BPS was entirely accounted for by the MAAS-LO and MFS, as was that between the ARCES and BDI-II. Structural modeling revealed the associations to be optimally explained by the MAAS-LO and MFS influencing the BPS and BDI-II, contrary to current conceptions of attention and memory problems as consequences of affective dysfunction. A lack of conscious awareness of one’s actions, signaled by the propensity to experience brief lapses of attention and related memory failures, is thus seen as having significant consequences in terms of long-term affective well-being.

Memory and aging: Selected research directions and application issues.

Abstract Everyday memory failures and long-term memory changes are among the most empirically established, socially expected, personally disconcerting, and widely misinterpreted aspects of human aging. A large, sophisticated, and still growing theoretical research base on memory aging has accumulated over the last several decades. Following a brief summary of a broad swath of selected basic memory aging phenomena, we identify a small subset of relatively recent but well-researched topics that may hold promise for optimizing memory adaptation in late life. Linking research with potential application, we sketch key objectives for three potential directions of intervention in memory and aging. Research on memory and aging is focused on processes through which individuals may recall previously experienced events or information, the extent to which these processes change with advancing age, and the conditions, correlates, or predictors of such changes. Reflecting the sheer volume of research in this field, numerous reviews of memory and aging have been published in recent decades (e.g., Craik & Salthouse, 2000; Hultsch, Hertzog, Dixon, & Small, 1998; Prull, Gabrieli, & Bunge, 2000; Zacks, Hasher, & Li, 2000). Of all aspects of the many cognitive changes that occur with aging, memory may be the one that has most captivated the interest of both aging individuals and our society in general (Bialystok & Craik, 2006; Dixon, Backman, & Nilsson, 2004; NavehBenjamin, Moscovitch, & Roediger, 2001; Park & Schwarz, in press; Zacks & Hasher, 2006). Reviewers often include several important facts about memory and aging: * Memory is viewed as a functional, if not essential, tool of successful lifespan development; * Memory failures and loss are among the most frequently mentioned complaints of older adults; * Memory loss is one of the most feared signs and implications of normal aging; * Late-life memory changes, both subtle and dramatic, can be the early indicators of cognitive impairment, including that associated with neurodegenerative diseases; * Widespread stereotypes in the Western world hold that, whereas memory abilities improve through childhood, they decline with aging. For these and other reasons, many researchers, practitioners, and aging adults are profoundly interested in understanding changes in memory abilities throughout adulthood, including answers to simple questions such as how, when, why, and to what extent memory may decline in late life. Over the last several decades, research on memory and aging has revealed provocative patterns of results. Whereas some memory tasks are associated with robust findings of aging-related deficits, other tasks are associated with less pronounced losses or even equivalent performance by younger and older adults. To understand why such divergent patterns might occur, it is useful to consider briefly both memory tasks and general memory theory. Memory tasks typically associated with aging-related decline include remembering lists of information, expository texts, faces and names, picture characteristics, spatial locations, and those that tap the limits of online memory processing. Tasks often associated with relatively unimpaired performance include memory for facts, words, and knowledge, and those that reflect familiar situations that include substantial environmental or human support. One well-developed theoretical treatment of memory per se has proven helpful in organizing this multidimensional pattern of results. Specifically, the memory systems perspective has been especially influential in research on memory and aging (Craik & Salthouse, 2000; Nyberg et al., 2003; Tulving, 1995). Positing that there are multiple systems of memory, a central goal of this perspective is to explicate the organization of, and relationships among, the systems. A memory system is defined as a set of related processes, linked by common brain mechanisms, information processes, and operational principles (Schacter & Tulving, 1994). …

Psychosocial stress enhances time-based prospective memory in healthy young men

Forgetting of intentions (such as to take one’s medication) is the most frequent everyday memory failure. No study so far has looked into the possible consequences stress might exert on memory for intentions (i.e., prospective memory). Twenty healthy young male adults were exposed to a psychosocial stress test and a non-stress condition. After a delay of 15 min, a time- and an event-based prospective memory task were administered during the peak of cortisol concentrations. Results show that participants performed significantly better in the time-based memory task after stress in comparison to the non-stress condition. In contrast, there was no stress effect on event-based prospective memory. The results demonstrate that prospective memory might be enhanced when participants are exposed to stress prior to the memory task and that this effect is associated to stress-related glucocorticoid effects.

Genome-wide Scan for Prospective Memory Suggests Linkage to Chromosome 12q22

Prospective memory slips (forgetting to do something) are as part of everyday memory failure as retrospective complaints (forgetting a past event). The extent to which genes influence prospective and retrospective memory is so far unclear. This study aims to quantify the relative genetic and environmental influences on such memory slips and seeks to identify QTL's with the first genome-wide scan for such traits. A classic twin design was implemented: comprising 896 monozygotic (MZ) and 1008 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pairs aged between 19 and 85 (mean age, 51) participated. The prospective and retrospective memory questionnaire (PRMQ) consists of 16 items, eight asking about prospective memory failures and eight concerning retrospective failures. Heritability for prospective memory and retrospective memory were found to be 44% and 41%, respectively. A genome- wide scan of 489 female DZ twin pairs suggested a QTL on chromosome 12q22 for prospective memory (LOD 2.76, empirical p-value 0.0006). Within this QTL lies an obvious candidate-the SCAD gene. These results suggest that large-scale gene discovery studies are possible with self-report memory questionnaires.