title: Distinguishing normal and demented elderly with the selective reminding test.
abstract: The selective reminding (SR) procedure, a popular technique for the study of verbal memory, was used to investigate aspects of memory functioning in a large group of normal elderly and in a smaller group of elderly subjects with Alzheimer Type Dementia (ATD). One hundred thirty-four normal elderly (mean age = 79.53 years) subjects and 21 ATD subjects (mean age = 68.3 years) were administered four versions of the SR test as part of a longitudinal study of risk factors in the development of dementia. Normative data were obtained for multiple components of memory functioning within the elderly sample. Test-retest reliability was .84 for long-term retrieval (LTR), .89 for sum of recall, and .92 for consistent retrieval. Clinical validity studies revealed that the components of sum of recall, storage estimate, LTR, and consistent long-term storage (CLTS) were most valuable in distinguishing mild ATD from normal aging. Positive predictive values ranged from 86% for CLTS, 89% for LTR, 91% for sum of recall, and 100% for storage estimate. These findings suggest that the SR test has considerable clinical utility in differentiating normal aging from dementia, and has promise as a useful tool in the preclinical detection of ATA.
authors: Dept. of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461.
authors: D M
authors: DM
authors: Masur
authors: P A
authors: PA
authors: Fuld
authors: A D
authors: AD
authors: Blau
authors: L J
authors: LJ
authors: Thal
authors: H S
authors: HS
authors: Levin
authors: M K
authors: MK
authors: Aronson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D011939:Mental Recall; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values