Identity matching in a person with Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

In the present study, a 91-year-old woman with Alzheimer's disease participated. The purpose of the experiment was to study how repetitions of conditions affected correct responding in identity matching-to-sample. The participant was presented with identity matching training with three colors (yellow, blue, and red). It was alternated between (A) delayed matching-to-sample 0 s (DMTS 0 s) and (B) simultaneous matching-to-sample (SMTS). These two conditions were repeated in six phases in an ABABAB-design. In the second part of the experiment, the participant was exposed for the same six phases again but with another set of color stimuli (green, orange, and purple). The results showed that the number of trials needed to meet the criterion for training decreased as the conditions were repeated, also with the new set of stimuli.