S-1-09-01
COGNITIVE REHABILITATION FOR MEMORY DISORDER OF KORSAKOFF SYNDROME
Haruo Kashima (Keio University,Tokyo, Japan)
Various methods of cognitive rehabilitation have been attempted in patients with memory disorder, but a definitive method has not been established. Recent reports indicate that even an amnesics should have a certain degree of memory concerning the matters around him. Schacter et al. stress the importance of acquiring essential daily life information in mitigating the cognitive behavioral disturbance in amnesics, and advocate the necessity of training to acquire domain-specific knowledge.
We performed the training for the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge in patients with alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome. A rehabilitation program in acquiring domain-specific knowledge was conducted in 5 patients with chronic alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome, aiming at remembering the names of the hospital staff. To acquire the domain-specific knowledge, repeated training of matching photographs to names was conducted once weekly for 6 months. At the end of the program, the number of times of name recall increased significantly, and the name was recalled even when directly meeting the person in the photograph. These findings suggest that the effect of rehabilitation using photographs is generalized to actual daily life. Assessment at one year after the end of the program demonstrated maintenance of the effect. However, no significant changes in performance in general learning tasks were observed before and after the rehabilitation. This finding suggests that the effect of rehabilitation to acquire domain-specific knowledge is not generalized to memory as a whole.
S-1-09-02
BNI SCREEN FOR HIGHER CEREBRAL FUNCTIONS: ITS ROLE IN DIAGNOSIS AND REHABILITATION
George P. Prigatano, Ph.D. (Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA)
A brief screening test for higher cerebral functioning was developed at the Barrow Neurological Institute for purposes of diagnosis and rehabilitation. Reliability and validity study show that this screening is not only distinguishes brain dysfunctional patients from normal controls but also can be used to distinguish brain dysfunctional patients from psychiatric patients and those with acute medical illness. Furthermore, a recent study demonstrates that improved performance on this screening test correlates with achieving rehabilitation goals after the acute onset of traumatic brain injury or cerebral vascular accident.
