Is Phonological-Lexical Representation Preserved in Moderate Stage Alzheimer Disease?
Patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) usually experience naming difficulty due to storage and access problems in phonological-lexical representation. Investigating naming response patterns followed by cueing may help us to understand the underlying mechanism of naming deficits in AD. A total of 221 patients with mild cognitive impairment and AD [Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0.5, 1, 2] were included as subjects. Sixty items of the Korean version of the Boston Naming Test were given, and upon failure, semantic/syllabic cues were verbally presented. From the results, even in the CDR 2 group, which is considered to be a moderate stage of AD, syllabic cues significantly facilitated correct responses. Our findings are in contrast with previous studies conducted with English-speaking patients, which reported that phonological-lexical representation may have been disrupted in the moderate stage of AD, and that none of the cues facilitated correct word retrieval. The difference may be ascribed
