When memory does not fail: familiarity-based recognition in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Recognition can be guided by familiarity, a restricted form of retrieval devoid of contextual recall, or by recollection, which occurs when retrieval is sufficient to support the full experience of remembering an episode. Recollection and familiarity were disentangled by testing recognition memory using silhouette object drawings, high target-foil resemblance, and both yes-no and forced-choice procedures. Theoretically, forced-choice recognition could be mediated by familiarity alone. Alzheimer's disease and its preclinical stage, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), were associated with memory impairments that were greater on the yes-no test. Remarkably, forced-choice recognition was unequivocally normal in patients with MCI compared with age-matched controls. Neuropathology in hippocampus and entorhinal cortex, known to be present in MCI, presumably disrupted recollection while leaving familiarity-based recognition intact.
Westerberg
Carmen E
CE
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. c-westerberg@northwestern.edu
Paller
Ken A
KA
Weintraub
Sandra
S
Mesulam
M-Marsel
MM
Holdstock
Juliet S
JS
Mayes
Andrew R
AR
Reber
Paul J
PJ
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001245:Association Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology