Semantic Relations and Repetition of Items Enhance the Free Recall of Words by Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Abstract

We compared 25 patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 24 normal controls on a test of free recall of words. Some lists contained words that were all unrelated, while in others the intermediary words were semantically related. In another set, the mid-list words were repeated across the lists, or, in addition to the repetition, were semantically associated. Immediate recall was assessed using these lists. Delayed recall was assessed using different lists (delay-unrelated and delay-related) after distractor tasks. Recency was not affected in MS patients, but the primacy effect was lower than in controls, this effect being interpreted as due to a deficiency in articulatory rehearsal. The delay interval after each list abolished recency in both groups and resulted in impaired recall in MS patients. However the patients, like the controls, benefited from semantic relations in the middle of the lists and from spaced repetition of words across the lists, in either immediate and delayed recall. The enhancing effects of word relatedness and of spaced repetition are seen as being due to automatic processes preserved in MS patients.

Effects of a benzodiazepine on free recall of semantically related words

“…Hence, the use of lists in which semantically related and unrelated items are included might help in the understanding of BDZ amnestic effects because in this case it is possible to assess the effects of these drugs on the activation of established relations between items. In order to make recall of related and non-related words comparable, we employed in the present study a paradigm used by several groups (Andrade et al, 2003;Craik and Levy, 1970;Tulving and Patterson, 1968) that consists of the introduction of semantically related words (e.g. milkcheese-butter) only in the middle positions of otherwise unrelated words lists.…”

Effects of semantic relations, repetition of words, and list length in word list recall of Alzheimer's patients

“…Moderate AD patients, however, did not get any profit from this association. A comparison can be made with other patients that also suffer from an impairment of memory but due to other etiologies, as is the case of multiple sclerosis patients in which both semantically related words and repetition of midlist words across several lists, enhance free recall of the target words 11 .…”

“…The primacy effect reflects an aspect of long-term memory, possibly resulting from a prolonged processing of the first words in the list when compared to those in the middle 9 , the recency effect, on the other hand, can be supported by short-term memory 10 . The introduction of semantically related words alters the pattern of the serial position curve, producing peaks of high recollection of these words 11,12 . repetition of words in the middle of the lists also causes another peak of recollection of these repeated words 11 .…”

“…The introduction of semantically related words alters the pattern of the serial position curve, producing peaks of high recollection of these words 11,12 . repetition of words in the middle of the lists also causes another peak of recollection of these repeated words 11 . The performance of AD patients in verbal free recall is impaired (e.g.…”

Influência da diabetes e a prática de exercício físico e atividades cognitivas e recreativas sobre a função cognitiva e emotividade em grupos de terceira idade

“…22 Para realização deste teste, o idoso foi colocado em uma sala reservada, sendo orientado a prestar atenção na lista de palavras que o pesquisador iria ler. O idoso foi orientado a memorizar o máximo de palavras possíveis e a ordem em que as mesmas foram citadas.…”