Free Recall Impairment With Preservation of Memorization in the Elderly

Abstract

Introduction: The free and cued selective reminding test (FCSR) assesses pathological forgetfulness (recalling of 16 items encoded by a visuo-verbal semantic strategy), distinguishing encoding from retrieval deficits. Immediate free recall (FRimm) is a predictor of learning capacity, which declines with age and increases according to education level. Objective: To test the effects of age and education on the ecrt subscores, focusing on FRimm. Method: 104 independent volunteers with normal Mini-Mental State scores were grouped as “adults” (N = 32; age: 33 ± 11 years; education: 14 ± 2 years) and “elders” (N = 72; age: 72 ± 7 years; education: 5 ± 5 years). The association between FRimm and age and education was estimated by multiple binary logistic regression and the results presented as the odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence intervals. Results: The chance of decline in performance was 22% (p ≤ 0,01) as the age increased, while that the subjects with more years of education have 31% less chance of decline in performance (p ≤ 0,05) in the FRimm. Conclusion: The normal ageing was associated to a decline in the learning process, while the education level had a protective effect against this decline.

Keywords

• free recall
• elderly
• selective reminding test
• memory assessment