Long-term deficits in episodic memory after ischemic stroke: evaluation and prediction of verbal and visual memory performance based on lesion characteristics.

We investigated the relationship between ischemic lesion characteristics (hemispheric side, cortical and subcortical level, volume) and memory performance, 1 year after stroke. Verbal and visual memory of 86 patients with stroke were assessed with Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test and the Doors Test, respectively. Lesion characteristics and presence of white matter lesions were assessed on magnetic resonance imaging early after stroke. Multiple regression analyses were used to investigate prediction of verbal and visual memory performance by lesion side (left v right hemisphere), lesion level (cortical v subcortical), and lesion volume. We controlled for the influence of demographic characteristics, language disability, and visuospatial difficulties on memory. The results demonstrated that poor verbal memory (immediate and delayed recall and recognition) could be predicted by lesion characteristics: patients with left hemispheric, subcortical, and large lesions showed poor memory performance. Poor visual recognition memory could not be predicted by lesion characteristics but only by low educational level. Our results suggest that lesion characteristics play an important role in episodic verbal memory poststroke if demographic and clinical characteristics are taken into account.