Work

Blinking in Patients with Memory Disorders During Short Term Memory Tasks

Year: 1993

Type: article

Abstract: The occurrence of blinking during short term memory tasks was analyzed for 32 subjects divided into three groups: 12 memory impaired patients, 10 elderly normals (age-matched to the patients), and 10 young normals. The subjects were participating in a study of brain evoked potentials accompanying memory activities. They were instructed not to blink during the performance of the memory tasks for reasons related to the quality of the recorded potentials. In this context, the withholding of blinking can be considered a secondary task. Blinking during the short term memory tasks was inversely related to performance accuracy (r = -.57). Age, mini-mental score and reaction time were also significantly related to the frequency of blinking. Dividing the memory patients into two groups according to the incidence of blinking, ("high-blinking" and "low-blinking"), revealed a significant difference in overall task accuracy with the high-blinking group performing more poorly than the low-blinking group.

Source: International Journal of Neuroscience

DOI: 10.3109/00207459309000572

Authors: John Olichney, Hillel Pratt, Arnold Starr

Institutions: United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, VA San Diego Healthcare System, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, University of California, Irvine

Language: English

Topic: Cognitive Functions and Memory

Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: U.S. Public Health Service