title: Intrusions in story recall: when over-learned information interferes with episodic memory recall. Evidence from Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) suffer from distortions of memory. Among such distortions, intrusions in memory tests are frequently observed. In this study we describe the performance of a group of mild AD patients and a group of normal controls on the recall of three different types of stories: a previously unknown story, a well-known fairy-tale (Cinderella), and a modified well-known fairy-tale (Little Red Riding Hood is not eaten by the wolf). The aim of our study was to test the hypothesis that in patients who tend to produce intrusions, over-learned information interferes with episodic recall, i.e., the retrieval of specific, unique past episodes. AD patients produced significantly more intrusions in the recall of the modified fairy-tale compared to the recall of the two other stories. Intrusions in the recall of the modified fairy-tale always consisted of elements of the original version of the story. We suggest that in AD patients intrusions may be traced back to the interference of strongly represented, over-learned information in episodic memory recall.
authors.affiliation: INSERM Unit 610, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Anna
authors.forename: Eve
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Attali
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Freynet
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Foubert
authors.forename: Aurore
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laurent
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dubois
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dalla Barba
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D010056:Overlearning / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012691:Serial Learning / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*