Conceptual and perceptual contributions to the acquisition and retention of text-specific reading skill in Alzheimer's disease

In the first experiment, patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and normal control (NC) participants read each of two passages three times and then ag ain after either a 1-min or 10-min delay interval. Reading time decreased w ith practice for both groups, and this facilitation was text-specific. Alth ough both groups retained the facilitation in reading speed after 1 min, it was reduced only in the AD group after 10 min. In the second experiment, t he same task was repeated with new passages that encouraged the use of eith er conceptual or perceptual processing during reading. Patients with AD acq uired the facilitation in reading speed normally in both conditions, but we re impaired in retaining it over a 10-min delay interval only in the concep tually-weighted condition.