Comment: Warning malingerers produces more sophisticated malingering.

Warning persons that attempts to malinger on neuropsychological testing will be detected is not an effective way of reducing malingering behavior. Rather, the literature on coaching consistently shows that malingerers who are warned of the presence of symptom validity assessment techniques are able to feign deficits in a less exaggerated and more believable fashion and therefore elude detection. Warning persons about the presence of these techniques reduces the validity and scientific quality of forensic evaluations. Rather than warning persons that they will be caught if they try to malinger, we recommend that persons be told to do their best and that forensic examiners encourage maximum effort, consistent with accepted testing practices and test manual instructions.

Accelerated forgetting in Alzheimer-type dementia.

Accelerated forgetting of name-face associations and grocery list items within the first hour postpresentation is demonstrated in 80 persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) compared to 80 control subjects matched on age, education, and gender. Differences in forgetting which exceeded statistical regression effects remained, even when AD and control subjects were matched on rate of acquisition during the learning trials of name-face associations. Results are discussed in relation to the neuropathology of AD, organic amnestic disorders, and methodological factors concerning previous research on forgetting in persons with AD.

Learning, forgetting, and retrieval of everyday material across the adult life span.

Levels and rates of acquisition and amounts of forgetting of name-face associations and grocery list items were assessed in a sample of 1,921 normal participants that was divided into five age groups (i.e., 17-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and 70+). Retrieval was assessed via the consistent long-term retrieval score (CLTR) from the Grocery List Selective Reminding Test (GLSRT). Substantial linear age-associated declines in level of acquisition were noted for both name-face associations and grocery list items. There was a significant age-related drop in rate of acquisition of name-face associations. Remarkably, very little forgetting occurred over a 40-min delay at any age on either measure. There was a significant linear age-related decline in retrieval efficiency for grocery list items, when variance due to both level of acquisition and retention was removed. The nature of age-associated memory decline and its possible neuroanatomic correlates is discussed.

Age and incidental recall for a simulated everyday memory task.

We compared intentional learning on an everyday memory task, associate learning of name-face pairs, with Type II incidental recall of the city of residence for each of the name-face pairs. Performance on intentional and incidental learning was significantly associated with age and performance differences begun as early as the fifth decade. Age was more strongly associated with intentional than with incidental learning, and performance on the single incidental recall trial was most similar to the first trial of the intentional learning task.

Multiple equivalent test forms in a computerized, everyday memory battery.

Eight parallel forms for six computerized, everyday memory tests were examined for equivalence of difficulty level. Six equivalent forms were found for Telephone Dialing, Name-Face Association, First-Last Name memory, and Grocery List Learning, white eight equivalent forms were found for Misplaced Objects and Recognition of Faces. The clinical and research utility of multiple equivalent forms of everyday memory tests is discussed.

First-Last Names and the Grocery List Selective Reminding Test: two computerized measures of everyday verbal learning.

Data are presented on two computerized tests of everyday verbal learning: Paired associate learning of First-Last Names (FLN), and the Grocery List Selective Reminding Test (GLSRT). MANOVA and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that performance on FLN and GLSRT was most strongly related to age, with significant secondary associations found for gender, with females performing better than males. Additional factor analysis of FLN and GLSRT supported the construct validity of these measures by demonstrating significant associations of performance with traditional newopsychological measures of memory and related functions, including the Paired Associate Learning and Logical Memory subtests from the Wechsler Memory Scale, the Benton Visual Retention Test, and WAIS Digit Symbol.

The Misplaced Objects Test: a measure of everyday visual memory.

The Misplaced Objects Test is a computerized test of object location recall. The test is structurally similar to tasks used in the evaluation of age and drug effects in preclinical animal research. Delayed recall of 20 common objects which the subject has placed using a touch sensitive screen in a computer-simulated 12-room house is evaluated with three measures. Scores include the number of objects found on the first attempt (Found 1), the number of objects found on the second attempt (Found 2), and the total number of objects found on both attempts (Found T). Performance was evaluated in relation to age, gender, education, and affective status, as well as in relation to several traditional neuropsychological measures. Misplaced Objects Test performance was most strongly associated with age and Wechsler Memory Scale Paired Associate Learning. Additional significant relationships were found with gender, education, and the WAIS Digit Symbol subtest. Potential future applications of the test were discussed.

Diagnosis and assessment of age-associated memory impairment.

Age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) is a diagnostic term applied to healthy persons greater than 50 years of age who have experienced a gradual decline in memory that lies within the boundaries of normality. Although the behavioral deficits associated with AAMI are modest in comparison to those associated with dementing disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, they are quite troublesome to many middle-aged and elderly adults engaged in intellectually demanding activities. In this article, diagnostic criteria for AAMI will be provided, new psychometric instruments for assessing the behavioral deficits seen in AAMI will be described, and results of large multinational studies with these instruments will be presented. Finally, behavioral and pharmacologic strategies for treating AAMI will be discussed.

Rapid recovery from crossed aphasia in a dextral.

A case of crossed aphasia in a right-handed woman resulting from a right-hemisphere stroke is reported. Rapid recovery occurred between an initial evaluation performed at one month poststroke and a follow-up evaluation performed at 2 months post. The cerebral organization and the relationship between language and other cognitive abilities in crossed aphasics are discussed. Additionally, the unitary and transient models of crossed aphasia are examined.