Investigating patterns of memory impairment in ischemic stroke in an iranian population

ABSTRACT

Up until the date of this research, studies have examined poststroke cognitive impairments in attention, memory, and executive functions. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of memory problems in various patterns of memory in ischemic stroke patients in an attempt to determine specific memory profiles of the patients. The goal was to determine the severity and patterns of memory impairments in ischemic stroke patients and to identify specific profiles of memory impairments in stroke patients, in order to help therapists to develop more appropriate memory rehabilitation programs for the patients. The sample consisted of 35 patients with ischemic stroke. Thirty-five individuals who were matched with the patients were selected as the control group. Demographic questionnaires, subscales of the Wechsler Memory Scale-III (WMS-III), including logical memory I and II and visual reproduction I and II, digit span from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-R (WAIS-R), and the Corsi span test were administered to both of the patients and control groups. Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was carried out to unveil possible differences in memory between the two groups. The mean scores of different memory patterns were significantly higher in the control group comparing to the patient group (p < 0.05). Among different aspects of memory, visual long-term memory and visual short-term memory had the largest effect sizes. Substantial impairments were also found in visual short-term memory, visuospatial short-term memory, and visual long-term memory. The findings suggest that the stroke patients have identifiable patterns of memory impairment.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive impairment
• ischemic stroke
• memory

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the staffs of Isfahan Neurosciences Research Center, Al-Zahra hospital, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.