Declarative and Procedural Learning, Quantitative Measures of the Hippocampus, and Subcortical White Alterations in Alzheimer's Disease and Ischaemic Vascular Dementia

Abstract

This research investigated whether subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and ischaemic vascular dementia (IVD) associated with periventricular and deep white matter alterations can be dissociated on tests of declarative and procedural memory, as well as on MRI indices of white matter alterations and the size of the hippocampal formation. The California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) and the Pursuit Rotor Learning Tests (PRLT) were used to measure declarative and procedural memory, respectively. Subjects with IVD obtained a higher score on the CVLT recognition discriminability index; however, on the PRLT total time on target, carry-over between trial blocks, and slope calculated for all test trials was low. Subjects with AD exhibited the opposite profile. MRI studies indicated that subjects with IVD had considerably greater white matter alterations, but larger hippocampal formations than subjects with AD. Higher scores on the CVLT recognition discriminability index were correlated with increased size of the body of the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. By contrast, as the severity of white matter alterations increased the slope on the PRLT declined. In sum, subjects with AD and IVD can be dissociated on the basis of differing patterns of impairment on tests of declarative and procedural memory, and MRI indices of white matter alteration and the integrity of the hippocampal formation.

Bilateral hippocampal volume increases after long-term lithium treatment in patients with bipolar disorder: a longitudinal MRI study

“…Hackert et al (2002) found a relation between verbal memory performance and Hh volume, whereas Starkman et al (2003) found a relation between increase in verbal memory and HC volume. Performance on the CVLT also correlated positively with HC volume in a group of trauma survivors with and without PTSD (Tischler et al 2006), and in patients with Alzheimer's disease (Libon et al 1998). Several imaging studies support a neuroprotective role for Li.…”

Effects of Medial Temporal Atrophy and White Matter Hyperintensities on the Cognitive Functions in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

“…Some have reported that patients with AD and WMH showed greater visuospatial dysfunction and attention/concentration impairment, slower cognitive processing and greater executive dysfunction than those patients with AD alone [3,4]. Other studies found no significant neuropsychological differences between the two groups [5,6,7].…”

Prospective and retrospective memory in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia: Similar patterns of impairment

“…Also for different aspects within an episodic memory task, such as the relative contributions from primary and secondary memory, and the ability to utilize cognitive support for improving performance, the patterns of impairment in AD and VaD are often similar [4]. However, other research suggests differences in episodic memory performance between the two dementia groups, with VaD patients outperforming AD patients [3,5,6].…”