title: Examination of the working memory components in normal aging and in dementia of the Alzheimer type.
abstract: The verbal and attentional components of working memory were examined in patients with Alzheimer's disease, normal elderlies, and young controls. Patients with Alzheimer's disease, showed a reduced span but were sensitive to word length. This is indicative of a functional rehearsal procedure. However, the effect of phonological similarity on immediate recall was smaller in patients with Alzheimer's disease and these patients showed a depressed performance in tasks of phonological analysis. There was also a significant decrement in a task that assessed the attentional component of working memory. Examination of individual patterns of performance showed that the phonological deficiency was severe in a subgroup of patients while the attentional deficit was more general.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Côte-des-Neiges, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Belleville
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Peretz
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malenfant
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology