Observed Strategies on Naturalistic Associative Memory Tasks in Healthy Older Adults and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment

ABSTRACT

Background

Understanding the strategies people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) spontaneously use can inform targeted memory training.

Method

Strategy use was observed for 99 people with aMCI and 100 healthy older adults (HOA) on two memory tasks.

Results

No differences were found between aMCI and HOA in the amount or types of strategies used, but strategy use varied with task. Association was more effective for one task, whereas on the other task, use of written notes or multiple strategies were detrimental to performance and related to poorer performance than active (spaced) retrieval, for aMCI.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest the importance of identifying ineffective habits, in addition to instruction in more beneficial approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• memory strategies
• aging
• mild cognitive impairment
• strategy use
• name recall

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the participants for their role in the study. This work was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia grant (478318 to Glynda Kinsella), a National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia Clinical Research Training Fellowship (602543 to Kerryn Pike), and a Tracey Banivanua Mar Fellowship from La Trobe University (Kerryn Pike). The funders had no role in the present study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by La Trobe University [Tracey Banivanua Mar Fellowship]; and the National Health and Medical Research Council [487318and602543].