Extent, pattern, and correlates of remote memory impairment in Alzheimer'sdisease and Parkinson's disease

Content and contextual memory for remote public figures and events was asse ssed with a modified version of the Presidents Test in patients with Alzhei mer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD). Contributions of executive functioning, semantic memory, and explicit anterograde memory to remote mem ory abilities were also examined. The AD group had temporally extensive def icits in content and contextual remote memory not accountable for by dement ia severity. The PD group did not differ from the control group in remote m emory, despite anterograde memory impairment. These results support the pos ition that different component processes characterize remote memory, variou s mnemonic and nonmnemonic cognitive processes contribute to remote memory performance, and anterograde and remote memory processes are dissociable an d differentially disrupted by neurodegenerative disease.