Rehabilitation of memory. Effect of errors and efforts in learning sessions.

Mimura Masaru

doi:10.2496/apr.18.136

Two trends in memory rehabilitation were discussed. First, the traditional and pragmatic techniques for supporting amnesic individuals were reviewed. These include external aids and internal mnemonic strategies such as verbal elaboration and a visual imagery method. A pure amnesic patient with herpes encephalitis was reported who demonstrated a significant benefit by verbal elaboration mnemonics, but not by visually-aided cues. Second, the newly developed top-down approaches for memory remediation were reviewed. These interventions including acquisition of domain-specific knowledge and a method of vanishing cues intend to utilize preserved ability of amnesic subjects. By discussing the theoretical importance and limits of the method of vanishing cues in which implicit memory process is implicated, the role of errors was highlighted in amnesic patients' memory rehabilitation. Although the method of vanishing cues is considered to be errorless and effortful intervention, the effect of errors and efforts in learning sessions has not been satisfactorily investigated. To determine the role of errors and efforts, we conducted two training programs. In Training 1, Korsakoff patients learned fictitious face-name associations under each of four study conditions that differed from one another in errors and efforts required to fulfill task demands. Recall performance gradually improved over four training sessions and was affected by the error factor. The paired associate and the vanishing cues methods led to superior recall in comparison with the target selections and the initial letter methods, demonstrating an advantage of errorless learning. In contrast, the effort factor was found to have little effect. In Training 2, the effectiveness of the vanishing cues method was further examined over additional training sessions. The roles of errors and efforts in the memory rehabilitation of amnesic patients were discussed.

Rehabilitation of memory. Effect of errors and efforts in learning sessions.

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