Susceptibility to memory interference effects following frontal lobe damage: findings from tests of paired-associate learning.

Authors:

• Arthur P. Shimamura

• Paul J. Jurica

• Jennifer A. Mangels

• Felicia B. Gershberg

• Robert T. Knight

Date: 1995

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Abstract:

Patients with frontal lobe lesions were administered tests of paired-associate learning in which cue and response words are manipulated to increase interference across two study lists. In one test of paired-associate learning (AB-AC test), cue words used in one list are repeated in a second list but are associated with different response words (e.g., LION-HUNTER, LION-CIRCUS). In another test (AB-ABr test), words used in one list are repeated in a second list but are rearranged to form new pairs. Compared to control subjects, patients with frontal lobe lesions exhibited disproportionate impairment of second-list learning as a result of interference effects. In particular, patients exhibited the poorest performance during the initial trial of the second list, a trial in which interference effects from the first list would be most apparent. These findings suggest that the on-line control of irrelevant or competing memory associations is disrupted following frontal lobe lesions. This disruption may be indicative of an impaired gating or filtering mechanism that affects not only memory function but other cognitive function as well.

Susceptibility to memory interference effects following frontal lobe damage: findings from tests of paired-associate learning

Authors:

• Arthur P. Shimamura

• Paul J. Jurica

• Jennifer A. Mangels

• Felicia B. Gershberg

• Robert T. Knight

Date: 1995

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Abstract:

Patients with frontal lobe lesions were administered tests of paired-associate learning in which cue and response words are manipulated to increase interference across two study lists. In one test of paired-associate learning (AB-AC test), cue words used in one list are repeated in a second list but are associated with different response words (e.g., LION-HUNTER, LION-CIRCUS). In another test (AB-ABr test), words used in one list are repeated in a second list but are rearranged to form new pairs. Compared to control subjects, patients with frontal lobe lesions exhibited disproportionate impairment of second-list learning as a result of interference effects. In particular, patients exhibited the poorest performance during the initial trial of the second list, a trial in which interference effects from the first list would be most apparent. These findings suggest that the on-line control of irrelevant or competing memory associations is disrupted following frontal lobe lesions. This disruption may be indicative of an impaired gating or filtering mechanism that affects not only memory function but other cognitive function as well.

Intact implicit memory in patients with frontal lobe lesions

Authors:

• Arthur P. Shimamura

• Felicia B. Gershberg

• Paul J. Jurica

• Jennifer A. Mangels

• Robert T. Knight

Date: 1992

PubMed: 1436439

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Abstract:

Patients with frontal lobe lesions and control subjects were administered tests of word-stem completion priming. In this implicit memory test, subjects are first presented words (e.g. MOTEL, PARADE) in an incidental learning paradigm. Following word presentation, subjects are shown word stems (e.g. MOT, PAR) and asked to produce the first word that comes to mind. Patients with frontal lobe lesions exhibited normal levels of word-stem completion. These findings indicate that implicit memory can operate normally despite damage to the prefrontal cortex. The present results substantiate previous neuropsychological and positron emission tomography findings which indicate that word priming depends critically on posterior cortical areas.