Preserved topographical memory following right temporal lobectomy

In an attempt to study remote memory for visuospatial information, geographical knowledge was examined in patient J.N., who had received a radical right temporal lobectomy to remove a large glioblastoma. In postoperative tests J.N. displayed severe deficits in anterograde memory for visuospatial and verbal material, visuoperceptual functions, constructions, attention, and response initiation. Despite her global cognitive deficiencies she performed normally on the WAIS Information Scale and the Fargo Map Test, a measure of geographical knowledge. In contrast, patients known to have severe amnesia exhibited impairments on tests of geographical knowledge that required precise localization of features such as cities. Assuming that J.N.'s performance is typical of patients with extensive damage to the right temporal lobe, the findings suggest that the integrity of the right temporal lobe is not essential for the retrieval of premorbidly established visuospatial memories.     

Interactive Effects of Chronic Health Conditions And Financial Hardship On Episodic Memory Among Older Blacks: Findings From The Health And Retirement Study

Previous research links chronic health conditions and financial hardship to cognitive outcomes among older Blacks. However, few studies have explored the moderating effect of financial hardship on chronic disease burden and specific cognitive domains. This study examined whether financial hardship (as measured by difficulty paying monthly bills) modifies the impact of self-reported chronic health conditions (e.g., diabetes, stroke) on episodic memory among 871 older Blacks (50+ years) in the 2006 Health and Retirement Study . Financial hardship modified the association between chronic disease burden and episodic memory performance such that individuals who reported very little difficulty paying their monthly bills had significantly lower memory scores at high levels of disease burden compared to those reporting high financial difficulty after controlling for age, gender and education (F 2, 49 = 5.03, p = .010). This cross-sectional study suggests that both financial and physical wellbeing may have joint effects on cognitive health in older Blacks.