Benefits of SenseCam review on neuropsychological test performance

BACKGROUND

One of the core applications of Microsoft's SenseCam is memory rehabilitation. Research has shown that it is an effective memory aid that can cue episodic memories. However, the extent to which SenseCam might improve aspects of memory beyond merely re-presenting forgotten events and locations has not been assessed.

PURPOSE

In line with neuroimaging and anecdotal reports, this study aimed to investigate the hypothesis that SenseCam review would enhance cognitive function more generally.

METHODS

Participants were 15 healthy younger adults and 14 healthy older adults who wore a SenseCam for 3 days, and wrote a diary for another 3 days (control). In each of these conditions, participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery immediately following review of the pictures or reading of the diary. Data for this study were collected from October to December 2011 and analyzed from January to March 2012.

RESULTS

Both young and older adults showed higher performance on most measures used in this study immediately following SenseCam review. Effects were largest for memory and executive function tasks, whereas speed of processing was not affected.

CONCLUSIONS

SenseCam review seems to act as a cognitive stimulant in the short term, with higher neuropsychological assessment scores following SenseCam review compared to re-reading a diary.

Evidence for intact memory monitoring in Alzheimer's disease: metamemory sensitivity at encoding

Previous research claiming that there is a metamemory deficit in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) has been based on paradigms in which metamemory judgements are compared with performance. These methods confound predictive accuracy with very poor memory performance. In the experiments presented here this confound is removed by focusing on the sensitivity of metamemory judgements to item differences at encoding, rather than on predictive accuracy. In Experiment 1 participants studied words of high or low recallability, and either made judgements of learning (JOLs) or declared recall readiness. It was found that the AD group discriminate between items in their metamemory judgements to the same extent as age matched controls. Both groups rated the highly recallable words as being more likely to be recalled, and allocated more study time to low recallability items. In Experiment 2 participants were asked to rank the likelihood of recall of items that varied in objective recallability. Once again, AD patients were as sensitive to objective differences in stimuli as controls. Therefore, using measures based on sensitivity to item differences, we find no evidence of a metamemory deficit at encoding in AD. The findings are discussed in terms of metamemory functioning in AD, and its relationship with memory performance.

The effects of repetition on allocation of study time and judgements of learning in Alzheimer's disease

Greene et al. [12] suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients approach repeated trials in a learning test as if they are single unrelated trials. Previous research [7] indicates that AD patients do not have explicit memory for item repetition when asked at test how many times a word was presented, but they do show benefits of repeated presentation in implicit tasks. In this experiment we examine metacognitive judgements made during study for repeated items. It was hypothesised that a lack of awareness of repetition may exacerbate the episodic memory impairment found in AD. To explore this, two measures of metamemory were taken for items presented once, twice or three times in a list: judgements of learning (JOLs), which are a declaration of how well an item has been learned, and recall readiness, which is the study time allocated by participants to ensure proficient learning of an item. With repetition, age matched controls made recall readiness judgements more quickly and reported higher JOLs. The AD patients showed faster recall readiness, but did not alter their JOLs. This suggests a dissociation in the AD group between judgements of learning and the allocation of study time. We discuss the implications for theories of the learning deficit in AD, and the use of metamemory measurements in clinical populations.