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力，阿尔茨海默病(AD)患者的改善幅度比健康的老年人要大得多。这个简单的事实对数百万阿尔茨海默病患者具有巨大的影响。如果我们能够更准确地了解图片是如何改善这些患者的记忆的，就可以开发新的记忆增强技术来进一步增强他们的记忆力，改善生活质量，并为照顾者和医疗系统节省资金。这项建议将使用实验心理学(基于计算机的行为研究)和认知神经科学(基于脑电的事件相关电位[ERP]研究)的技术来研究AD患者强大的图片优势效应背后的认知和神经过程。目的1检验阿尔茨海默病患者对独特视觉信息的完整知觉处理增强了图像的编码、存储和提取的假说。插图1和2检查在编码时增加或减去感知细节是增加还是减少画面优势效果。实验3使用知觉掩蔽识别任务来确定患者是否可以仅根据存储的知觉信息识别无法识别的测试图片。实验4考察了从提取线索中去除不同的视觉信息是否会消除图片优势效应。目的2检验完整的概念加工增强AD患者对图片的编码、存储和提取的假说。实验5使用事件相关电位来确定图片刺激是否比带有和不带有概念标签的模糊图像更好地编码概念信息。实验6采用概念内隐记忆测验来确定图片的概念信息是否优于单词的概念信息。实验7使用事件相关电位来检验患者在基于类别的提取任务中是否表现出图片优势效应。最后，Aim 3检验了这一假说，即词的编码、存储和提取受损有助于AD患者的强健的图片优势效应。实验8使用事件相关电位来检验成功编码图片的大脑活动与成功编码视觉和听觉呈现的单词的大脑活动的差异。实验9使用事件相关电位来检验在编码时生成单词的内部图像表征的能力的限制是否有助于AD中稳健的图像优势效应。实验10考察AD对记忆单词和图片的遗忘率是否有不同的影响。最后，实验11考察了与图片相比，单词作为检索线索是否不那么有效。这些目标和实验的成功完成将使我们对图片如何增强AD的记忆有一个详细的了解。这种理解可以随后改进临床评估的方法，并作为有前景的新学习技术的基础，例如无错误学习。这些新技术可能会帮助患者记住如何以及何时服药，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.