Cognitive and Neural Correlates of the Picture Superiority Effect in Alzheimer's.

描述（由申请人提供）：图片比文字更能改善记忆，阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者比健康的老年人表现出更大的改善。这个简单的事实对数百万阿尔茨海默病患者有着巨大的影响。如果我们能够更好地理解图片是如何改善这些病人的记忆的，新的记忆增强技术就可以被开发出来，进一步提高他们的记忆，提高生活质量，为护理人员和医疗保健系统节省资金。本提案将使用实验心理学（基于计算机的行为研究）和认知神经科学（基于脑电图的事件相关电位[ERP]研究）的技术来检查AD患者强大的图像优势效应背后的认知和神经过程。目的1检验了AD患者对独特视觉信息的完整知觉加工增强图像编码、存储和检索的假设。专家1和专家2研究了在编码时增加或减少感知细节是否会增加或减少图像优势效应。实验3使用感知掩蔽识别任务来确定患者是否能够仅基于存储的感知信息识别无法识别的测试图像。实验4检验了从检索线索中去除独特的视觉信息是否会消除图像优势效应。目的2检验完整的概念加工增强AD患者图像编码、存储和检索的假设。exp 5使用erp来确定图片刺激是否比带有或不带有概念标签的模糊图像允许更好的概念信息编码。专家6使用概念内隐记忆测试来确定存储图片的概念信息是否优于存储单词的概念信息。实验7使用erp来检验患者在基于类别的检索任务中是否表现出图像优势效应。最后，Aim 3检验了AD患者编码、存储和检索功能受损导致图像优势效应的假设。实验8使用erp检查成功编码图片与成功编码视觉和听觉呈现的单词的大脑活动差异。专家9使用erp来检查在编码时生成单词内部图像表示的能力的限制是否有助于AD中强大的图像优势效应。第10篇探讨了AD对记忆中的单词和图片的遗忘率是否有不同的影响。最后，文章11检验了文字作为检索线索是否不如图片有效。这些目标和实验的成功完成将为我们提供关于图片如何增强AD记忆的详细了解。这种理解可以随后改进临床评估方法，并作为有前途的新学习技术的基础，如无差错学习。这些新技术可以帮助患者记住如何以及何时服用药物并进行日常生活活动，从而提高他们的生活质量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Pictures improve memory over words, and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) show a much greater improvement than healthy older adults. This simple fact has tremendous implications for millions of patients with AD. If we were able to better understand exactly how pictures improve memory in these patients, new memory enhancing techniques could be developed to further increase their memory, improving quality of life and saving money for caregivers and the healthcare system. This proposal will use the techniques of experimental psychology (computer-based behavioral studies) and cognitive neuroscience (EEG-based event- related potential [ERP] studies) to examine the cognitive and neural processes that underlie the robust picture superiority effect in patients with AD. Aim 1 examines the hypothesis that intact perceptual processing of distinctive visual information enhances the encoding, storage, and retrieval of pictures in patients with AD. Expts 1 and 2 examine whether adding or subtracting perceptual detail at encoding increases or decreases the picture superiority effect. Expt 3 uses a perceptual masked identification task to determine whether patients can recognize unidentifiable test pictures based only on stored perceptual information. Expt 4 examines whether removing distinctive visual information from the retrieval cues eliminates the picture superiority effect. Aim 2 examines the hypothesis that intact conceptual processing enhances the encoding, storage, and retrieval of pictures in patients with AD. Expt 5 uses ERPs to determine whether picture stimuli allow for better encoding of conceptual information than ambiguous images with and without conceptual labels. Expt 6 uses a conceptual implicit memory test to determine whether the conceptual information stored for pictures is superior to the conceptual information stored for words. Expt 7 uses ERPs to examine whether patients demonstrate the picture superiority effect for a category-based retrieval task. Finally, Aim 3 examines the hypothesis that impaired encoding, storage, and retrieval of words contributes to the robust picture superiority effect in patients with AD. Expt 8 uses ERPs to examine differences in brain activity for successful encoding of pictures compared to successful encoding of visually and auditorily presented words. Expt 9 uses ERPs to examine whether limitations in the ability to generate an internal image representation of words at encoding contributes to the robust picture superiority effect in AD. Expt 10 examines whether forgetting rates of stored words and pictures are differentially affected by AD. Finally, Expt 11 examines whether words are less effective as retrieval cues compared to pictures. Successful completion of these aims and experiments will provide us with a detailed understanding of how pictures enhance memory in AD. This understanding could subsequently improve methods of clinical assessment, and serve as the basis of promising new learning techniques, such as errorless learning. These new techniques may help patients remember how and when to take their medications and perform activities of daily living, thereby improving their quality of life. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and often the presenting symptom, is significant impairment in episodic memory, which leads to societal and financial burden. Pictures improve memory in Alzheimer's disease and could potentially reduce the burdens placed on caregivers and the infrastructure of the healthcare system. The experiments in this grant proposal will investigate how and why pictures improve memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease in an effort to find better ways to help patients combat memory problems and live at home and in the community longer.