Affiliations: Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands | Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University
Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands | Department of Behavioural Sciences, Epilepsy Centre
Kempenhaeghe, Heeze, The Netherlands
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Marc Hendriks, Montessorilaan 3
Room B.02.08, 6525 HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 243615508; Fax: +31
243616066; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: In this study, we examined working memory performance of stroke
patients. A previous study assessing amnesia patients found deficits on an
associative working memory task, although standard neuropsychological working
memory tests did not detect any deficits. We now examine whether this may be
the case for stoke patients as well. The current task contained three
conditions: one spatial condition, one object condition and one binding
condition in which both object and location had to be remembered. In addition,
subsequent long-term memory was assessed. The results indicate that our sample
of stroke patients shows a working memory deficit, but only on the
single-feature conditions. The binding condition was more difficult than both
single-feature conditions, but patients performed equally well as compared to
matched healthy controls. No deficits were found on the subsequent long-term
memory task. These results suggest that associative working memory may be
mediated by structures of the medial temporal lobe.
Keywords: Binding, relational memory, stroke, working memory
