title: Memory for gist and detail information in patients with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Memory formation is proposed to be a dual process that involves the simultaneous memorisation of both detailed information (item-specific memory) and gist information (gist memory). Memory deficits have been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD); however, few studies have explicitly addressed the nature of these deficits. To obtain a detailed understanding of memory dysfunction in patients with PD, it is of crucial importance to establish whether item-specific memory and gist memory performance are impaired. The aim of this study is to explore whether gist memory and item-specific memory performance are still intact in patients with PD, as well as to determine which psychological mechanisms are responsible for memory formation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two hospitals in northern Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-nine patients with PD and 28 normal controls were recruited. Each participant received a gist-based recognition test following the Deese-Roediger-McDermott paradigm, as well as neuropsychological tests and measures of clinical characteristics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Gist memory was impaired in patients with advanced-stage disease (Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y) stage: III) (F2,64=3.58, p=0.033), whereas item-specific memory was preserved throughout all disease stages. Correlation analysis showed that item-specific memory was related to executive functions in normal controls and early-stage patients with PD (H&Y stage: I-II); however, item-specific memory was related to episodic memory, rather than to executive functions, in advanced-stage patients with PD. Moreover, gist memory was related to episodic memory, but only in early-stage patients with PD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We discovered that impaired gist memory is found in advanced-stage, but not in early-stage, patients with PD. Our findings suggest that the techniques used to take advantage of the relatively preserved gist memory in early-stage patients with PD, as well as the preserved item-specific memory in patients with PD of all stages, could be useful for memory rehabilitation programmes.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Rwei-Ling
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chun-Hsiang
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Linkou Branch, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yih-Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ruey-Meei
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Jang
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Neurobiology and Cognitive Science Center, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Mau-Sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hua
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: Executive Function; Humans; Memory; Memory Disorders; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease