Saman Afrasiabi, Mahdi Goudarzvand, Amir Saeid Sedighi, Yazdan Shafikhani, Behrooz Ghanbari,
Volume 27, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
Introduction: Sequential word learning is a crucial aspect of memory research in cognitive neuroscience, emphasizing the importance of recalling words at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a sequence. This study aims to investigate the extent of primacy and recency effects in patients with neglect syndrome caused by right parietal lobe damage.
Methods: This case-control study involved 18 patients with parietal lobe tumors, divided into two groups: 9 patients with neglect syndrome and nine without. Patients referred to the neurosurgery department of Shahid Tajrish Hospital with right parietal lobe lesions underwent neurological and psychological evaluations, including the cancellation test, line bisection test, copying test, and the 5-point test. Those diagnosed with neglect syndrome formed the syndrome group, while the rest constituted the control group. Both groups participated in immediate recall (short-term memory) and delayed recall (long-term memory) tests for sequential word learning, with results analyzed for primacy and recency effects.
Results: Among the 18 patients, 61% were men and 39% were women. Analysis of immediate and short-term memory tests for sequential word learning revealed no significant differences in primacy and recency effects between the two groups.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that patients with right parietal lobe damage and neglect syndrome do not exhibit significant differences in primacy or recency effects in verbal memory during sequential word learning compared to the control group. Consequently, immediate and short-term memory appears relatively unaffected in these patients.
