The characteristics of Reading Span and regional cerebral blood flow among the elderly in memory clinic

Abstract

Patients with various types of dementia show diverse forms of impairment of cognitive functions, such as language, memory, executive function and problem solving (DSM-IV). Reading Span Test (RST) measures the functions of Working Memory (WM) (Daneman & Carpenter, 1980), mainly reflecting frontal lobe functions. This study investigated how regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) measured by SPECT would differ depending on the results of RST, and evaluated the usefulness of the RST as an assessment tool for dementia in light of cerebral degeneration. Participants were 33 elderly patients who complained of memory decline. RST for the elderly, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and SPECT were executed. Results showed that the rCBF in specific regions were significantly higher for RST high score group than RST low score group. However, there were no significant differences of rCBF between two types of dementia. We discussed the brain regions which would influence the performance on RST and the effectiveness of RST in the clinical situation.