Nathalie Bier

Face-name association learning in early Alzheimer's disease: A comparison of learning methods and their underlying mechanisms

This study compared the efficacy of five learning methods in the acquisition of face–name associations in early dementia of Alzheimer type (AD). The contribution of error production and implicit memory to the efficacy of each method was also examined. Fifteen participants with early AD and 15 matched controls were exposed to five learning methods: spaced retrieval, vanishing cues, errorless, and two trial-and-error methods, one with explicit and one with implicit memory task instructions. Under each method, participants had to learn a list of five face–name associations, followed by free recall, cued recall and recognition. Delayed recall was also assessed. For AD, results showed that all methods were efficient but there were no significant differences between them. The number of errors produced during the learning phases varied between the five methods but did not influence learning. There were no significant differences between implicit and explicit memory task instructions on test performances. For the control group, there were no differences between the five methods. Finally, no significant correlations were found between the performance of the AD participants in free recall and their cognitive profile, but generally, the best performers had better remaining episodic memory. Also, case study analyses showed that spaced retrieval was the method for which the greatest number of participants (four) obtained results as good as the controls. This study suggests that the five methods are effective for new learning of face–name associations in AD. It appears that early AD patients can learn, even in the context of error production and explicit memory conditions.

Known, lost, and recovered: Efficacy of formal‐semantic therapy and spaced retrieval method in a case of semantic dementia

Background: Few studies have addressed rehabilitation in semantic dementia. A potentially promising method is formal‐semantic therapy, which consists of tasks in which the names of concepts and their semantic characteristics are presented. It could also be enhanced by spaced retrieval, a learning method improving retention through recalling information after increasing recall intervals. Aims: This study explores the efficacy of both a formal‐semantic therapy and the spaced retrieval method to restore lost concepts in TBo, a woman with semantic dementia. Methods & Procedures: The formal‐semantic therapy consisted of giving TBo semantic feedback followed by a cueing technique to facilitate naming. Formal‐semantic therapy with simple repetition was compared to formal‐semantic therapy with spaced retrieval. TBos performance was measured throughout the study with picture naming and generation of verbal attributes. Two untrained lists were also measured for generalisation effects. Outcomes & Results: Results indicate that, after therapy, TBo could name 3/8 of the trained items, compared to no items on the untrained lists. She also showed an increase in performance for the evocation of specific semantic attributes of concepts, reaching 6/8 of correct responses. Moreover, she maintained her performance up to 5 weeks after the end of the study. Finally, when compared to simple repeated practice, spaced retrieval did not enhance learning and no generalisation was observed between trained and non‐trained categories. Conclusions: Along with recent results reported in the literature, TBos results confirm that people with semantic dementia can improve their naming performance with training but that this is limited. However, formal‐semantic therapy seems very promising for retraining specific semantic attributes. Instead of focusing on naming, we suggest that therapies used in semantic dementia should aim at restoring specific and functionally relevant concepts to enable the individuals to be more autonomous in daily living. The first author was supported by PhD awards from the Quebec Rehabilitation Research Network, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Interdisciplinary Training in Research on Health and Aging, and the Ordre des ergothérapeutes du Québec. The authors also wish to thank TBo for her enthusiastic participation in this study, as well as Lindsey Nickels, Karen Croot, Kim S. Graham and two anonymous reviewers for their invaluable comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

New learning in dementia : Transfer and spontaneous use of learning in everyday life functioning. Two case studies

The purpose of these two case studies was to explore the effectiveness of learning methods in dementia when applied in real-life settings and the integration of new skills in daily life functioning. The first participant, DD, learned to look at a calendar with the spaced retrieval method to answer his repeated questions about the current date and calls made to family. Progressive cuing was used by his wife to increase spontaneous use of the calendar, but DD had difficulty integrating the calendar into his routine. The second patient, MD, relearned a leisure activity (listening to music on a cassette radio) and how to participate in a social activity (saying the rosary in a group) with a combination of learning methods. Transfer of these skills in similar contexts was difficult for MD. She never integrated the cassette radio into her daily life routine but she went regularly to the rosary activity, which was cued by an alarm clock. In sum, the learning methods used were very effective with these patients but transfer and spontaneous use were difficult. Since these aspects are essential to rehabilitation, they should be further explored in order to increase the effectiveness of cognitive interventions.

Errorless-Based Techniques Can Improve Route Finding in Early Alzheimer's Disease: A Case Study

Topographical disorientation is a common and early manifestation of dementia of Alzheimer type, which threatens independence in activities of daily living. Errorless-based techniques appear to be effective in helping patients with amnesia to learn routes, but little is known about their effectiveness in early dementia of Alzheimer type. A 77-year-old woman with dementia of Alzheimer type had difficulty in finding her way around her seniors residence, which reduced her social activities. This study used an ABA design (A is the baseline and B is the intervention) with multiple baselines across routes for going to the rosary (target), laundry, and game rooms (controls). The errorless-based technique intervention was applied to 2 of the 3 routes. Analyses showed significant improvement only for the routes learned with errorless-based techniques. Following the study, the participant increased her topographical knowledge of her surroundings. Route learning interventions based on errorless-based techniques appear to be a promising approach for improving the independence in early dementia of Alzheimer type.

Normative Data for the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test in the Quebec-French Population

Semantic memory tests assess long-term memory for facts, objects, and concepts as well as words and their meaning. Since it holds culturally shared information, the development of normative data adjusted to the cultural and linguistic reality of the target population is of particular importance. The present study aimed to establish normative data for the Pyramids and Palm Trees Test, a commonly used test of semantic memory, in the French-Quebec population. The normative sample consisted of 214 healthy French-speaking adults and elderly persons from various regions of the province of Quebec. The effects of participants age, gender, and education level on test performance were assessed. Results indicated that participants level of education and age, but not sex, were found to be significantly associated with performance on this test. Normative data are presented as means and standard deviations. Overall, the present norms are consistent with those of previous studies with Spanish samples.

Cooking “Shrimp à la Créole”: A pilot study of an ecological rehabilitation in semantic dementia

New learning in semantic dementia (SD) seems to be tied to a specific temporal and spatial context. Thus, cognitive rehabilitation could capitalise upon preserved episodic memory and focus on everyday activities which, once learned, will have an impact in everyday life. This pilot study thus explores the effectiveness of an ecological approach in one patient suffering from SD. EC, a 68-year-old woman with SD, stopped cooking complex meals due to a substantial loss of knowledge related to all food types. The therapy consisted of preparing a target recipe. She was asked to generate semantic attributes of ingredients found in one target, one control and two no-therapy recipes. The number of recipes cooked by EC between therapy sessions was computed. She was also asked to prepare a generalisation recipe combining ingredients from the target and control recipes. ECs generated semantic attributes (GSA) of ingredients pertaining to the target and control recipes increased significantly (pu2009<u2009.001), compared to the no-therapy recipes (psu2009>u2009.79). The proportion of meals cooked also increased significantly (pu2009=u2009.021). For the generalisation recipe, she could not succeed without assistance. Frequent food preparation may have provided EC with new memories about the context, usage and appearance of some concepts. These memories seem very context-bound, but EC nonetheless re-introduced some recipes into her day-to-day life. The impact of these results on the relationship between semantic, episodic and procedural memory is discussed, as well as the relevance of an ecological approach in SD.

How to make a spaghetti sauce with a dozen small things I cannot name: a review of the impact of semantic-memory deficits on everyday actions.

The purpose of this article is to present current evidence regarding the role of semantic memory in everyday actions. First we describe key models of everyday actions. We then discuss current evidence regarding the role of semantic memory in everyday actions. We reviewed articles reporting on the execution and representation of everyday actions in populations with semantic-memory deficits and single-object use in patients with semantic dementia. Although the evidence is sparse, the general conclusion of this review is that semantic memory seems necessary to support everyday actions. Finally, future challenges and research perspectives are discussed.

The specificity of notation codes in apraxic agraphia: dissociation between Arabic and alphabetical scripts in a patient with severe ideomotor and visuoconstructional apraxia.

This article describes the case of a patient with corticobasal syndrome, who showed severe ideomotor and visuoconstructional apraxia along with handwriting difficulties more marked for letters and words than for digits and numbers. For alphabetical script, these difficulties were less marked when graphic motor patterns were activated with a model, whilst for digits IVs graphic productions were better in dictation. Moreover, IVs graphic production was negatively influenced by graphomotor complexity for letters but not for numbers. IV is the first reported case of a patient with severe limb apraxia, who also showed peripheral agraphia, with dissociation in alphabetical and numerical notation codes resulting from a specific deficit in the activation of graphomotor programs.

Acquisition of face-name associations in Early Alzheimer's Disease: A Comparison of Different Methods

P-158 ACQUISITION OF FACE-NAME ASSOCIATIONS IN EARLY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: A COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT METHODS Nathalie Bier, Lise Gagnon, Martial Van der Linden, Johanne Desrosiers, Stéphane Adam, Julie Saint-Mleux, Stéphanie Louveaux; University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada; University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; Research Center on Aging, Sherbrooke, PQ, Canada