PHRASE REPETITION IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE - EFFECT OF MEANING AND LENGTH

Repetition ability depends in part on the intactness of semantic memor y. If the conceptual contents of semantic memory are lost as a functio n of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, meaningfulness of stimuli sho uld have progressively less effect on the ability to repeat as the dis ease worsens. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of meani ngfulness and length of phrasal stimuli on repetition ability in mild and moderate AD patients and normal elderly subjects. Fifty-seven AD p atients and 52 normal subjects were given six- and nine-syllable phras es that were meaningful, improbable in meaning, or meaningless. Cross- sectional and longitudinal data analyses were conducted and results fa iled to confirm a performance pattern consistent with a semantic memor y loss theory. Meaningless nine-syllable phrases were those most diffi cult to repeat for moderate as well as mild AD patients and normal con trols. (C) 1996 Academic Press, Inc.