Intact implicit memory for newly formed verbal associations in amnesic patients following single study trials

This study examines the ability of amnesic patients to recover newly formed associations implicitly after a single study trial. Fifteen amnesic patien ts with various etiologies studied pairs by forming a sentence containing b oth words. At test, all participants saw 40 intact pairs, 40 rearranged pai rs, and 40 new words. All pain appeared side by side both at study and at t est. For the implicit lexical-decision task, 40 nonwords were intermixed wi th the other pairs, and participants indicated whether both items were word s. For the explicit speeded-recognition test, participants were asked to in dicate whether both words had appeared at study. Despite being severely imp aired on the explicit test, amnesic patients performed like healthy control s on the implicit test, with faster and more accurate responses to intact p airs than to recombined pairs. Contrary to existing theories, the results s uggest that amnesic patients can form and retain new associations.