Delayed adjustment tasks have recently been developed to examine working memory (WM) precision, that is, the resolution with which items maintained in memory are recalled. However, despite their emerging use in experimental studies of healthy people, evaluation of patient populations is sparse. We first investigated the validity of adjustment tasks, comparing precision with classical span measures of memory across the lifespan in 114 people. Second, we asked whether precision measures can potentially provide a more sensitive measure of WM than traditional span measures. Specifically, we tested this hypothesis examining WM in a group with early, untreated Parkinson's disease (PD) and its modulation by subsequent treatment on dopaminergic medication. Span measures correlated with precision across the lifespan: in children, young, and elderly participants. However, they failed to detect changes in WM in PD patients, either pre‐ or post‐treatment initiation. By contrast, recall precision was sensitive enough to pick up such changes. PD patients pre‐medication were significantly impaired compared to controls, but improved significantly after 3 months of being established on dopaminergic medication. These findings suggest that precision methods might provide a sensitive means to investigate WM and its modulation by interventions in clinical populations.

Objective: Economic measures such as unemployment and gross domestic product are correlated with changes in health outcomes. We aimed to examine the effects of changes in government healthcare spending, an increasingly important measure given constrained government budgets in several European Union countries. Design: Multivariate regression analysis was used to assess the effect of changes in healthcare spending as a proportion of total government expenditure, government healthcare spending as a proportion of gross domestic product and government healthcare spending measured in purchasing power parity per capita, on five mortality indicators. Additional variables were controlled for to ensure robustness of data. One to five year lag analyses were conducted. Setting and Participants: European Union countries 1995-2010. Main outcome measures: Neonatal mortality, postneonatal mortality, one to five years of age mortality, under five years of age mortality, adult male mortality, adult female mortality. Results: A 1% decrease in government healthcare spending was associated with significant increase in all mortality metrics: neonatal mortality (coefficient À0.1217, p ¼ 0.0001), postneonatal mortality (coefficient À0.0499, p ¼ 0.0018), one to five years of age mortality (coefficient À0.0185, p ¼ 0.0002), under five years of age mortality (coefficient À0.1897, p ¼ 0.0003), adult male mortality (coefficient À2.5398, p ¼ 0.0000) and adult female mortality (coefficient À1.4492, p ¼ 0.0000). One per cent decrease in healthcare spending, measured as a proportion of gross domestic product and in purchasing power parity, was both associated with significant increases (p < 0.05) in all metrics. Five years after the 1% decrease in healthcare spending, significant increases (p < 0.05) continued to be observed in all mortality metrics. Conclusions: Decreased government healthcare spending is associated with increased population mortality in the short and long term. Policy interventions implemented in response to the financial crisis may be associated with worsening population health.