MEMORY TRAINING AND DRUG-THERAPY ACT DIFFERENTLY ON MEMORY AND METAMEMORY FUNCTIONING - EVIDENCE FROM A PILOT-STUDY

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of drug therapy (DT) with pramiracetam and memory training (MT), each alone, and in combin ation (DTMT), on both the objective memory and metamemory performance. Thirty-five non-depressed, non-demented healthy elderly (mean age: 64 .8 years) with objective (story recall) and/or subjective (cognitive d ifficulties scale) memory loss were randomly included in four open-lab el conditions: an MT condition (n =10), a DT condition (n = 8), a DTMT condition (n = 10), and a control (CTR) condition (n = 7). MT and DTM T subjects participated in 12 real-life tutor-guided MT sessions, once weekly, each lasting 7.5 hrs. The subjects were tested for objective (Randt memory test) and subjective (Sehulster metamemory scale: memory functioning questionnaire) memory proficiency prior to (t(0)) and sho rtly after treatment (t(1)). Results showed that objective memory gain s of the two groups receiving pramiracetam were significantly larger t han that of the FAT and CTR groups. The ranking order in terms of decr easing score improvements was DTMT DT - MT - CTR. Metamemory, on the o ther hand, displayed only a trend to between-group differences with op posite patterns for the DT and DTMT groups. In the DT group, the level of depression, negatively interfered with metamemory but not with act ual memory performance. The present findings stress, once again, the c omplex relationships between memory, metamemory and affective status, which may be differently modified by DT and MT.