Affiliations: School of Psychology, Bangor University, UK
Note: [] Corresponding author: Linda Clare, PhD, School of Psychology,
Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2AS, UK. Tel.: +44 1248 388178; Fax:
+44 1248 382599; E-mail: l.clare@bangor.ac.uk
Abstract: Purpose: This review considers the application of functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify treatment effects and brain
plasticity in cognition-focused interventions aimed at people with Alzheimer's
disease (AD). At present there is little evidence available that bears directly
on this question. Associative memory function is affected in the early stages
of AD and also deteriorates disproportionately in comparison to other types of
memory in healthy ageing. Methods: We review paradigms from the
literature on face-name learning in fMRI in three groups (AD, mild cognitive
impairment, and healthy ageing) with the aim of developing a paradigm to
measure treatment effects and functional plasticity following cognitive
intervention. Results: Previous studies have commonly selected
participants with high levels of education, and have generally used challenging
tasks, with considerable variations in level of task performance across
studies. The findings of the review indicate that there is a need a simple
face-name learning paradigm that can be used with people with AD, and which can
be applied either as a single assessment tool to compare various subject groups
or as an outcome tool to assess functional changes following a period of
cognitive intervention. Conclusions: We make recommendations for such a
paradigm and discuss pilot data showing the successful application of our
paradigm in an individual with MCI.
