title: Interference from retrieval cues in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Existing studies on memory interference in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have provided mixed results and it is unknown whether PD patients have problems in overcoming interference from retrieval cues. We investigated this issue by using a part-list cuing paradigm. In this paradigm, after the study of a list of items, the presentation of some of these items as retrieval cues hinders the recall of the remaining ones.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested PD patients' (n = 19) and control participants' (n = 16) episodic memory in the presence and absence of part-list cues, using initial-letter probes, and following either weak or strong serial associative encoding of list items.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both PD patients and control participants showed a comparable and significant part-list cuing effect after weak associative encoding (13% vs. 12% decrease in retrieval in part-list cuing vs. no part-list cuing -control- conditions in PD patients and control participants, respectively), denoting a similar effect of cue-driven interference in the two populations when a serial retrieval strategy is hard to develop. However, only PD patients showed a significant part-list cuing effect after strong associative encoding (20% vs. 5% decrease in retrieval in patients and controls, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When encoding promotes the development of an effective serial retrieval strategy, the presentation of part-list cues has a specifically disruptive effect in PD patients. This indicates problems in strategic retrieval, probably related to PD patients' increased tendency to rely on external cues. Findings in control conditions suggest that less effective encoding may have contributed to PD patients' memory performance.
authors: Cognitive Neuroscience Sector, International School for Advanced Studies, SISSA, Trieste, Italy. crescent@sissa.it
authors: Cristiano
authors: C
authors: Crescentini
authors: Dario
authors: D
authors: Marin
authors: Fabio
authors: F
authors: Del Missier
authors: Emanuele
authors: E
authors: Biasutti
authors: Tim
authors: T
authors: Shallice
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D003463:Cues; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications*; D013223:Statistics as Topic