An exploration of prospective memory components and subtasks of the Memory for Intentions Test (MIST).

Introduction: Prospective Memory (PM), the ability to execute future intentions, decreases with age and memory-related disorders and may be an early predictor of dementia. The Memory for Intentions Test (MIST) allows the assessment of multiple aspects of PM using a range of subtasks. The current study evaluated and explored a Portuguese version of the MIST and its subtasks.Method: Forty-one patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and forty healthy participants performed the MIST, neuropsychological tests and questionnaires. Analyses were performed testing relationships between MCI and PM components of the MIST, and differences between subtasks of the test were explored.Results: Reliability of the PM component was acceptable within the patient group, but not within the control group. PM components were significantly lower in the MCI patients, but this effect was dependent on subtasks. Groups differed most strongly at shorter intervals. PM scores predicted MCI status. Correlations were found between PM components and cognitive functioning scales.Conclusions: The Portuguese version of the MIST seems suitable for use in clinical practice and research. MCI is differentially related to different PM components and subtasks of the MIST.

Self-regulation and the specificity of autobiographical memory in offenders.

Certain clinical populations exhibit an Overgeneral Autobiographical Memory (OAM), characterized by difficulty remembering specific events. One study has observed OAM for positive events in a group of offenders. This study analyzed the stability of the valence effect in the OAM of offenders, the executive control impairments facilitating OAM in offenders, and the relationship of self-esteem and social desirability with AM specificity. The specificity (Autobiographical Memory Test) and emotional properties of the AMs of 59 prisoners (30 men, 29 women) and a control group (29 men, 30 women) were compared. Social desirability, depression symptoms, self-esteem and executive functions (Mazes, Stroop, Verbal Fluency) were assessed. The offenders recalled fewer specific positive AMs than controls, and did not perceive the emotional intensity of their negative AMs to decrease over time, unlike the controls. The offenders' recall of specific negative AMs seemed to influence negatively their performance in the subsequent executive control tasks. Dysfunctional coping strategies in offenders were related to OAM, but not social desirability or self-esteem.

Portuguese version of Wechsler Memory Scale-3rd edition's utility with demented elderly adults.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the utility of the Portuguese version of the Wechsler Memory Scale-3rd edition (WMS-III) with demented elderly people, namely its capacity to detect and discriminate between subcortical vascular dementia (SVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). We assessed early demented patients (SVD = 16; AD = 36) aged 65 or older who were compared to a control group (n = 40). Both clinical groups were adequately matched in terms of disease severity, overall cognitive functioning, depressive symptomatology, and pre-morbid intelligence. Between-group's differences were evaluated using the Quade's rank analysis of covariance. We also computed indexes and subtests optimal cut-off scores, and the corresponding sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values, which were able to successfully discriminate between patients and healthy subjects. The SVD patients had a better overall memory performance than AD patients on the majority of the indexes and the delayed condition subtests of the WMS-III. The AD patients only showed a better performance on digit span subtest. Several measures discriminated patients from healthy subjects. This study suggests some recommendations for the diagnostic accuracy of the Portuguese version of WMS-III in dementia and about differential diagnosis between SVD and AD.