title: Long-term spacing effect benefits in developmental amnesia: case experiments in rehabilitation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The spacing effect describes the typical finding that repeated items are remembered best when additional items are introduced between each repetition than when the repetitions occur in immediate succession. In this study, we investigated the nature and limits of the spacing effect in the developmental amnesic case H.C.
  
  
  METHODS
  In Experiment 1, we compared the performance of H.C. to that of controls on a short-term, free recall, verbal learning spacing paradigm while controlling for retention interval (timing of item review and recall). In Experiment 2, we compared the performance of H.C. to that of controls on a multiday, cued recall, verbal learning spacing paradigm, in which memory was assessed after 1 week.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both experiments, H.C. demonstrated a spacing effect comparable to the effect exhibited by controls. In Experiment 1, her final recall memory for long-lag (spaced) items was better than recall for no-lag (massed) items t(23) = 10.99, p < .001, d = 2.5. In Experiment 2, her final cued recall memory for next-day-reviewed (spaced) items was better than cued recall for same-day-reviewed (massed) items, t(20) = 17.6, p < .001, d = 4.1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates the spacing effect in a person with impaired episodic memory development and is the first to show long-term benefits of spacing in amnesia. Substantially slower learning-to-criterion suggests an alternate mechanism supporting the spacing effect, perhaps independent of the hippocampus. Spacing should be considered as a candidate memory intervention technique given its effectiveness in both short- and long-term learning settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Janet L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weston
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Melody
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wiseheart
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: R Shayna
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Rosenbaum
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000647:Amnesia / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D013997:Time Factors; D014706:Verbal Learning; D055815:Young Adult