Se. Starkstein et al., ANOSOGNOSIA AND PROCEDURAL LEARNING IN ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE, Neuropsychiatry, neuropsychology, and behavioral neurology, 10(2), 1997, pp. 96-101
Awareness of cognitive deficits may rely on the implicit learning of i
ntellectual limitations, and anosognosia in Alzheimer's disease (AD) m
ay result from deficits in implicit learning, To examine this hypothes
is, a consecutive series of 55 patients with probable AD were divided
into groups with mild (n = 13), severe (n = 12), Or no anosognosia (n
= 30) and were assessed with a neuropsychological battery that include
d tests of declarative and procedural learning. Whereas there were no
significant between-group differences in tests of declarative learning
(the Buschke Selective Reminding Test and the Benton Visual Retention
Test), patients with severe anosognosia showed a significantly worse
performance on procedural learning (as measured with the Maze Learning
Test) and a lest assessing set shifting abilities (the Wisconsin Card
Sorting Test) than AD patients without anosognosia. The authors' resu
lts suggest that deficits in procedural learning and anosognosia in AD
may result from dysfunction in habit-learning systems.