| Publication Abstract Display | | Type: Poster | | Title: Longer delay intervals exacerbate HIV-associated prospective memory deficits among older adults. | | Authors: Doyle K, Morgan EE, Weber E, Bondi M, Delano-Wood L, Grant I, Woods SP, and the HNRP Group | | Date: 11-09-2012 | | Abstract:Objective:
According to McDaniel and Einstein’s (2000) multiprocess theory, prospective memory (PM) resources are taxed as the delay between encoding and cue detection increases, due to greater demands upon strategic systems supporting monitoring and retention of the cue-intention pairing. This hypothesis was examined in the context of HIV infection and aging, which are associated with additive deficits in the strategic aspects of PM.
Method:
268 individuals were classified into four groups on the basis of HIV serostatus and age (i.e., ≤40 years and ≥50 years). In addition to a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation, participants completed the Memory for Intentions Screening Test, which includes short (i.e., 2-min) and long (i.e., 15-min) delay intervals, during which participants are engaged in an ongoing word search task.
Results:
A multiple regression controlling for groupwise demographic and disease differences revealed significant additive effects of age (p<.05) and HIV (p<.05) on longer delay intervals, in which older HIV+ participants exhibited the poorest performance (ps<.05). However, there were no additive effects on shorter delay intervals (p>.10). Within the older HIV+ group, long-delay PM was uniquely related to deficits in executive functions and retrospective memory (ps<.05)
Conclusions:
Findings are consistent with the multiprocess theory in that older HIV+ individuals were disproportionately vulnerable to worse PM performance as the task delay interval lengthened, which may be due to executive dysfunction and delayed retrospective memory impairment. Complications with completing PM tasks after longer delay intervals could contribute to poorer health-related outcomes, including unemployment and medication nonadherence. |
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