Memory facilitation in healthy older adults and Alzheimer disease patients

Age-related declines in cognitive performance are well documented within the normal aging literature (Hickman, Howieson, Dame, Sexton, & Kaye, 2000), as are Alzheimer Disease (AD) related cognitive impairments (Perry & Hodges, 1999). Consequently, interest has emerged in exploring potential strategies to ameliorate these changes with a specific focus on the role of practice (Kramer & Willis, 2002). Task specific practice has been examined in non-memory studies (e.g., Rockstroh, Deitrich, & Pokorny, 1995). The effect of retrieval practice at the time of encoding has been explored in memory studies for both healthy older adults (Rabinowitz & Craik, 1986) and individuals with AD (Camp, Foss, O'Hanlon, & Stevens, 1996). However, Backman (1996) and Bird (1998, 2001) suggested that such memory facilitation strategies are most likely to be effective when support is provided for both encoding and retrieval.;Study 1 explored the effects of task-specific practice for 55 adults between the ages of 20 and 90 using a dual-task paradigm. In Study 2, the effects of memory supports including retrieval practice, rich stimulus inputs, and retrieval support were evaluated for 90 healthy adults between the ages of 20 and 90. Study 3 extended this investigation with a sample of 19 individuals in the early stage of AD and 19 normal older individuals. Results of these studies supported practice as a viable strategy to improve task performance for individuals of all ages and for individuals in the early stages of AD. Within Study 1, there was no evidence of a differential benefit of practice for any age group, suggesting that past findings of age-related differences in task performance are not merely a reflection of differential task familiarity disadvantaging older individuals. Within the subsequent two studies, comparisons were restricted by the presence of ceiling effects; however, older individuals and individuals in the early stages of AD demonstrated improved delayed recall as a function of retrieval practice at the time of encoding. This benefit was enhanced by the provision of retrieval support. Together, these findings provide an optimistic view for the role of compensatory strategies in reducing the effects of normal aging and early stage AD.