Accelerated long-term forgetting after TIA or minor stroke: A more sensitive measure for detecting subtle memory dysfunction?

Cognitive changes after minor stroke or TIA have been reported, with studies describing a 'vascular' cognitive profile with spared episodic memory. Still, many patients also report memory complaints. Studies using long-term forgetting paradigms have detected memory impairment after prolonged intervals in contrast to standard delayed testing in other patient groups. This study examined whether accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF) is present in patients with minor stroke or TIA by comparing one-week delayed recall and recognition with the performance of a healthy control group. Results revealed that the patients' performance after one week was worse than the controls, in the absence of an impairment after a short delay. Patients did, however, not report more memory worries than controls. Possibly, reduced effort, attention or mnemonic strategies may contribute to subtle consolidation problems, which go undetected in daily functioning.
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