title: Dissociation between source and item memory in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Episodic memory includes information about item memory and source memory. Many researches support the hypothesis that these two memory systems are implemented by different brain structures. The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics of item memory and source memory processing in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and to further verify the hypothesis of dual-process model of source and item memory.
  
  
  METHODS
  We established a neuropsychological battery to measure the performance of item memory and source memory. Totally 35 PD individuals and 35 matched healthy controls (HC) were administrated with the battery. Item memory task consists of the learning and recognition of high-frequency national Chinese characters; source memory task consists of the learning and recognition of three modes (character, picture, and image) of objects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the controls, the idiopathic PD patients have been impaired source memory (PD vs. HC: 0.65 ± 0.06 vs. 0.72 ± 0.09, P = 0.001), but not impaired in item memory (PD vs. HC: 0.65 ± 0.07 vs. 0.67 ± 0.08, P = 0.240).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present experiment provides evidence for dissociation between item and source memory in PD patients, thereby strengthening the claim that the item or source memory rely on different brain structures. PD patients show poor source memory, in which dopamine plays a critical role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230601, China.
authors.forename: Youhai
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
authors.forename: Huijuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230061, China.
authors.forename: Chunhua
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China.
authors.forename: Xianwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230022, China. Email: wangkai1964@126.com.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*