THE PATTERN OF DEFICIT IN DIFFERENT MEMORY COMPONENTS IN NORMAL AGINGAND DEMENTIA OF ALZHEIMERS TYPE

The study explored differential patterns of deficits in different memo ry components as a function of dementia severity. Three groups of 58 s ubjects each were used: (1) highly functioning elderly who are free of neurological or psychiatric symptoms; (2) individuals with early sign s of memory disturbance, whose MMSE scores were greater-than-or-equal- to 24; and (3) individuals with MMSE scores below 24, who meet criteri a for DAT. Performance on the tests that assess different memory compo nents was compared for the three groups. Results suggest pronounced ch ange in acquisition component of memory at the onset of dementia, wher eas retrieval from remote memory discriminates well between the mild a nd the more advanced phases of the disease. Retrieval from recent memo ry deteriorates more gradually. Based on these results, efficiency of different memory mechanisms was discussed.