Relative importance of informational units and their role in long-term recall by closed-head-injured patients and control groups.

Applied qualitative analysis to the information recalled by control Ss and closed-head-injured (CHI) patients. The Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) was administered to 40 CHI and 40 control Ss. Recall was tested immediately after administration, 40 min later, and 24 hrs later. The analysis took into account the importance of recalled information as determined by a prior rating according to 3 levels of importance. Results suggest that CHI patients have difficulty selectively retrieving the most important information after a long delay. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impaired learning in patients with closed-head injuries: An analysis of components of the acquisition process.

Several studies have already shown a deficit in learning ability following closed-head injury (CHI). Moreover, different learning curves have been claimed to characterize different head-injured subgroups (A. R. Luria, 1973). The present study separated the learning process into 2 different components: the number of new words added in each learning trial and the number of words omitted from trial to trial. The Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test was administered to 30 normal Ss and 30 CHI Ss. Analysis of the number of words recalled in each of the 5 learning trials showed that, relative to the CHI group, the control group recalled a greater number of words and exhibited a steeper learning curve. Further analysis revealed that the control group's steeper learning curve was a product of both a significantly greater increment of words in each trial and a significantly smaller number of words omitted from trial to trial. The clinical and theoretical implications of the distinction between addition and omission of information in the learning process are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)