Differences between episodic and semantic memory in predicting observation-based activities of daily living in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease

Abstract

Individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) can often progress into Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Research suggests that decline in episodic memory and semantic memory, as well as functional abilities, can be sensitive in predicting disease progression. This study aimed to (a) investigate episodic and semantic memory performance differences between AD and MCI, (b) determine if memory performance predicts observation-based activities of daily living (ADLs), and (c) explore whether semantic memory mediates the relationship between episodic memory and ADLs. Fifty-eight AD, 53 MCI, and 72 healthy control participants were administered the Rey-O, California Verbal Learning Test, Animal Fluency Test, Boston Naming Test, and Direct Assessment of Functional Status (DAFS). The results revealed, first, that AD participants performed significantly lower than the MCI participants across semantic memory and episodic memory tasks, with the exception of the Boston Naming Test. Second, hierarchical-stepwise regression analyses found that semantic memory significantly predicted DAFS orientation, communication, and financial skills in AD, but episodic memory predicted shopping skills. Furthermore, semantic memory significantly predicted DAFS transportation skills in AD and MCI. Third, within the overall sample, semantic memory mediated the relationship between episodic memory and ADLs. Taken together, the findings suggest decline in semantic memory (as measured by confrontational naming and category fluency) and episodic memory (as measured by list and complex visual design learning and recall) may lead to decline in different and specific aspects of functional abilities in AD and MCI.

Keywords:

• Activities of daily living
• Alzheimer’s disease
• episodic memory
• functional abilities
• mild cognitive impairment
• semantic memory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The primary source of funding for this study was provided by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) grant GM048680. Additional support was provided by NIGMS grants GM094051 and GM63787 as well as NIH grants #8TL4GM118977-02 and #5RL5MD009603-02. Additional thanks to the University of California, San Diego’s Strategic Enhancement of Excellence through Diversity (SEED) Fellowship to MZN.