LEARNING AND RETENTION IN PRECLINICAL AND EARLY ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

Accelerated forgetting has been proposed as the first sign in preclini cal and early Alzheimer's disease (AD). The authors investigated learn ing and retention in participants who later developed AD with free and cued selective reminding (FCSR; H. Buschke, 1984; E. Grober & H. Busc hke, 1987), a test that maximizes learning by inducing deep semantic p rocessing and by controlling study and test conditions. AD patients in the preclinical stage recalled significantly fewer words than did mat ched control participants, indicating an impairment of learning; nonet heless, patients' retention was identical to that of control participa nts. A retention deficit was documented 3 years later for AD patients but not for control participants, whose retention was still perfect. T hus, a retention deficit is not present in preclinical AD when hallmar k learning deficits can be documented. Detection of preclinical and ve ry early AD may be best accomplished by using robust learning tests th at control cognitive processing.