title: Semantic memory impairment for biological and man-made objects in individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or late-life depression.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and late-life depression (LLD) both increase the risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD). Very little is known about the similarities and differences between these syndromes. The present study addresses this issue by examining the nature of semantic memory impairment (more precisely, object-based knowledge) in patients at risk of developing AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants were 17 elderly patients with aMCI, 18 patients with aMCI plus depressive symptoms (aMCI/D+), 15 patients with LLD, and 29 healthy controls. All participants were aged 55 years or older and were administered a semantic battery designed to assess semantic knowledge for 16 biological and 16 man-made items.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall performance of aMCI/D+ participants was significantly worse than the 3 other groups, and performance for questions assessing knowledge for biological items was poorer than for questions relating to man-made items.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first to show that aMCI/D+ is associated with object-based semantic memory impairment. These results support the view that semantic deficits in aMCI are associated with concomitant depressive symptoms. However, depressive symptoms alone do not account exclusively for semantic impairment, since patients with LLD showed no semantic memory deficit.
authors.affiliation: École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Brandy L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Callahan
authors.affiliation: Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Sven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joubert
authors.affiliation: École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Pier
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada Département de réadaptation, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Macoir
authors.affiliation: Département de psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Belleville
authors.affiliation: Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rousseau
authors.affiliation: Clinique interdisciplinaire de la mémoire du CHU de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Rémi W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Bouchard
authors.affiliation: Clinique interdisciplinaire de la mémoire du CHU de Québec, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Verret
authors.affiliation: École de psychologie, Université Laval, Quebec, Canada Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire en santé mentale de Québec, Quebec, Canada carol.hudon@psy.ulaval.ca.
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hudon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D000647:Amnesia / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D001688:Biological Products; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000067562:Late Onset Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008420:Manufactured Materials; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D012660:Semantics; D013577:Syndrome
chemical_list: D001688:Biological Products
keywords: Alzheimer disease; depression; geriatric psychiatry; memory