Objective: Subtle decline in memory is thought to arise in the preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, detecting these initial cognitive difficulties cross-sectionally has been challenging, and the exact nature of the decline is still debated. Accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) has been recently suggested as one of the earliest and most sensitive indicators of memory dysfunction in subjects at risk of developing AD. The objective of this study was to design and validate the 1-week memory battery (1WMB) for assessing episodic memory and ALF in cognitively unimpaired individuals.
Method: The 1WMB is unique in that it assesses multimodal memory and measures recall at both short delay (20 min) and at long term (1 week). Forty-five cognitively unimpaired subjects were assessed with 1WMB and standardized neuropsychological tests. Subjective cognitive decline (SCD), levels of anxiety and depression, and cognitive reserve were also measured.
Results: The tests of 1WMB showed a high internal consistency, and concurrent validity was observed with standard tests of episodic memory and executive functions. The analysis revealed a greater loss of information at 1 week compared to short-term forgetting (20 min). Performance in the 1WMB was affected by age and educational level, but was not associated with levels of anxiety and depression. Unlike standard tests, performance in the 1WMB correlated with measures of SCD.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the 1WMB has good psychometric properties, and future studies are needed to explore its potential usefulness to assess cognitively unimpaired subjects at increased risk of developing AD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).