Maze learning in Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and normal elderly controls performed a block of 10 trials on a finger maze, followed by a 45-min period during which verbal learning measures were administered. Subjects then performed an additional 10 trials on the original maze, followed by 10 trials on a new maze. The AD patients and a subset of control subjects decreased mean completion time across Blocks 1 and 2, suggesting skill acquisition. Mean time on Block 3 was significantly less than mean time on Block 1, suggesting skill generalization. A subset of controls did not show the above pattern. The results of this study suggest that AD patients are able to acquire and generalize a cognitively mediated perceptual-motor skill.
Grosse
D A
DA
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois 60612.
Wilson
R S
RS
Fox
J H
JH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time