SEMANTIC & REPETITION PRIMING IN NORMAL & ABNORMAL AGING

研究计划的主要目标是了解 轻度情景和语义记忆障碍的非记忆过程 与正常衰老和更严重的记忆障碍有关 （尤其是在情景记忆中）与阿尔茨海默病（AD; 最常见的异常神经和认知老化类型）。 的 前半部分的实验利用语义启动帕拉， digms，其中对文字处理时间的影响，前面的相关 相对于无关的项目进行测量。 这些研究旨在提供 关于衰老和AD对（1）使用受控， 注意语义启动过程，（2）语义启动的程度 启动可以减少单词发现问题，和（3）易感性， 类别内抑制效应（即，概念间干扰 例如共享许多语义特征“马”和“狗”）。 的 实验的后半部分利用情景记忆 范式，被称为重复启动，其中对刺激的影响 相同刺激的先前发生的处理时间是 测定了 重复启动可用于证明 以前经历过的刺激，而受试者的记忆没有被 直接测试。 变量，如滞后（重复之间），模式 刺激处理（主动与被动）和刺激的兼容性 处理（重复之间）将被操纵。 拟议 研究将产生关于记忆存储的重要信息， “间接”或“隐含”的记忆测试情况，涉及最小的 努力，定向搜索和检索，以及工作记忆容量;这 将获得AD与健康老年人相比的信息 与年轻人相比，健康的老年人。 的 一个普遍的假设是，当记忆的测量方法被使用时， 尽量减少使用资源需求，注意力过程，AD 患者的表现将更接近，在某些情况下， 与对照组无区别。 这些成果 实验将与正常记忆的认知模型相关， 以及AD中异常记忆功能的模型，因此将 向广大观众发表讲话。 所提出的实验也具有实际意义 相关性：在保持存储器存储能力的程度上 在衰老中，尽管注意力和工作记忆受损， 培训和补偿计划需要关注非记忆 这些功能反过来又在获取信息方面发挥着关键作用 进出内存存储。 此外，在某种程度上， 储存受AD病理生理学的影响比以前小 假设，评估AD记忆的方法（用于诊断或药物治疗） 治疗目的）可能需要修改。

The broad objective of the research program is to understand the role of non-memory processes in the mild episodic and semantic memory impairments associated with normal aging and in the more severe memory impairments (especially in episodic memory) associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD; the most common type of abnormal neurological and cognitive aging). The first half of the proposed experiments utilize semantic priming para- digms, in which the effect on word processing time of a preceding related versus unrelated item is measured. These studies are designed to provide data on the effects of aging and AD on (1) the use of controlled, attentional semantic priming processes, (2) the extent to which semantic priming can reduce word-finding problems, and (3) susceptibility to intra-category inhibition effects (i.e., interference between concepts such as "horse" and "dog" which share many semantic features). The second half of the proposed experiments utilize an episodic memory paradigm, known as repetition priming, in which the effect on stimulus processing time of a previous occurrence of the same stimulus is measured. Repetition priming can be used to demonstrate storage of a previously experienced stimulus without the subject's memory being directly tested. Variables such as lag (between repetitions), mode of stimulus processing (active vs. passive), and compatibility of stimulus processing (between repetitions) will be manipulated. The proposed studies will yield important information about memory storage in "indirect" or "implicit" memory-testing situations which involve minimal effort, directed search and retrieval, and working memory capacity; this information will be obtained for AD compared to healthy elderly individuals and for healthy elderly compared to young individuals. The general hypothesis is that when measures of memory are used which minimize the use of resource-demanding, attentional processes, the AD patients' performance will be closer to, and in some cases indistinguishable from, that of controls. The outcomes of these experiments will have relevance for cognitive models of normal memory as well as for models of abnormal memory functioning in AD, and thus will speak to a wide audience. The proposed experiments also have practical relevance:. to the extent that memory storage capabilities are preserved in aging, despite the impairments in attention and working memory, memory training and compensation programs need to focus on the non-memory functions, which in turn, play a critical role in getting information into and out of memory storage. Further, to the extent that memory storage is less affected by AD pathophysiology than has been previously assumed, methods of assessing memory in AD (for diagnostic or drug treatment purposes) may need to be revamped.