TRIAL-LENGTH SENSITIVITY OF THE VERBAL SELECTIVE REMINDING TEST TO LATERALIZED TEMPORAL-LOBE IMPAIRMENT

The sensitivity of 6- versus 12-trial versions of the Verbal Selective Reminding Test (VSRT) to the material-specific memory deficits that a re often observed in patients with lateralized temporal lobe (TL) impa irment was investigated in 84 patients with complex partial seizures o f temporal lobe origin (left = 45; right = 39). Patients with left-TL impairment tended to perform worse than patients with right-TL impairm ent on bath long-term storage (LTS) and continuous long-term retrieval (CLTR) using either 6- or 12-trial versions. When employed to classif y individual patients, comparable classification was obtained using ei ther 6- or 12-trial formats. These results indicate that a shortened 6 -trial format may be employed without any significant loss of sensitiv ity to left-TL impairment.