Neuropsychological impairments of short-term memory: Edited by Giuseppe Vallar and Tim Shallice....
2
Pergamon Neuropsychologia, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 327-328, 1996 ElsevierScienceLtd Printed in Great Britain Book Review Neuropsyehological Impairmentsof Short-Term Memory. Edited by GIUSEPPE VALLAR and TIM SHALLICE. Cambridge University Press, 1990. Cognitive neuropsychology has in many ways been one of the contemporary success stories of research on human cognition. Through an interdisciplinary partnership it has offered evidence for theories of normal and impaired cognition, a corpus of knowledge for application to clinical neuropsy- chology, and some hints as to the links between neurological organisation and cognitive function. These are important contributions and Neuropsychological Impairments of Short- Term Memory is edited by two of the best known contributors to this success story. Some of the most prolific researchers in cognitive neuropsychology have contributed to the collection of 18 chapters which combine a single volume of scholarly reviews, empirical work, and detailed case studies of individual patients. One measure of ongoing success in an area is the extent to which the research endeavour can account for an adequate range of phenomena within the diocese of the topic, and whether it generates fresh lines of enquiry. Certainly there is no absence of well-supported theory or of pointers to new lines of enquiry. This is clear for example in the Craik, Morris and Gick chapter on age differences in working memory, in the Kinsbourne and Hicks chapter on time estimation in amnesics and normals, in the Saffran and Martin discussion of lexical contributions to short-term memory, or in the exploration by Butterworth and colleagues of short-term retention without short-term memory. There are also several chapters which make detailed and contrasting 'state of the debate' statements about the link between verbal short-term memory and language comprehension. Particularly stimulating on this topic were the chapters by McCarthy and Warrington and by Caplan and Waters. The Caplan and Waters chapter is also notable for its extremely useful and comprehensive summary of patients previously described in the literature who have impairments of phonological processing and of phonological storage. It was refreshing, for example in the chapter by Friedrich, to read about the possible influence of strategic use of multiple codes for short-term storage tasks both in normal subjects and in patients. One important implication of this is that impaired performance in patients may result from the use of intact parts of the cognitive system or alternative codes which are not optimal for the task in hand. In other words the pattern of impairment observed in a patient may reflect a learned coping strategy involving alternative codes rather than the operation of the damaged section of the cognitive system. These are crucial, but not universally recognised caveats for studies of neuropsychological patients. The influence of the Baddeley and Hitch articulatory loop model in studies of verbal short-term memory constitutes a significant theme throughout the book. Alan Baddeley's review of the basic findings and statement of his current views on the model, together with the first chapter by Shallice and Vallar do much to set a context for the debate in the chapters which follow. Moreover, the book as a whole serves as a source of multiple single case studies, focused on one class of cognitive functions and associated impairments. This effectively ad- dresses a well-rehearsed criticism of the use of group based studies of brain damaged subjects (e.g. Caramazza, 1986 [1]; Caramazza and McCloskey, 1988 [2]), an issue that crops up at various points in the book. In providing a collection of such detailed case studies, the chapters offer a rare opportunity to consider a significant body of data that is expertly targeted theoretically and empirically on verbal short-term memory function. These are exciting and flourishing lines of research, and interested researchers would find the chapters invaluable. What is also interesting about the book is that it accurately reflects the focus of contemporary research on verbal short- term memory. Sadly this is at the expense (in the literature as well as in the book) of a consideration that neuropsychology might tell us something about how other kinds of information are stored on a temporary basis. There are a few exceptions in the book, such as Graham Hitch's review of the developmental literature where he discusses visual temporary storage, and the Kinsbourne and Hicks chapter which considers impairments of time estimation. In a number of the other chapters visual short-term retention is mentioned, but it is conceived in terms of an alternative mode of storage when verbal short-term memory is impaired. However, there are few suggestions as to the detailed characteristics of this alternative visual system or of any other aspects of temporary storage. This is in stark contrast to the sophisticated treatment of verbal short-term memory. Perhaps if the book had been called 'Neuropsycho- logical Impairments of Verbal Short-Term Memory' then these omissions would be less salient. A further issue that would be worthy of further discussion is the lack of normative data on the range of tests of impaired cognitive function. The provision of norms from the healthy population would greatly increase our confidence that the patterns of data obtained from patients demonstrate genuine impairments relative to normal cognitive function and that the observed patterns in patients do not arise from a lack of reliability in the choice of measures. One way in which this is tackled with patients is by using a range of different measures, ostensibly of the same cognitive functions, on several occa- sions, thereby adopting a process of converging operations. However, this procedure is not conclusive without some knowledge of the reliability of the measures across and within individuals in the healthy population, and the relevant data are rarely collected. My only other criticisms are minor in that there are places where a final read through and polish might have led to one or two of the longer chapters being more concise, and also could have picked up on the typesetting errors which appeared in a few of the chapters. The book was published in 1990, and this is a field where data collection is gathering pace. Nevertheless it is a significant book that will continue, for some time to come, to offer an invaluable source for researchers, for clinicians, and for graduate students interested in deficits of verbal short-term memory. 327
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Transcript of Neuropsychological impairments of short-term memory: Edited by Giuseppe Vallar and Tim Shallice....
P e r g a m o n
Neuropsychologia, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 327-328, 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd
Printed in Great Britain
Book Review Neuropsyehological Impairments of Short-Term Memory. Edi ted by G I U S E P P E V A L L A R and T I M S H A L L I C E . C a m b r i d g e Univers i ty Press, 1990.
Cognitive neuropsychology has in many ways been one of the contemporary success stories of research on human cognition. Through an interdisciplinary partnership it has offered evidence for theories of normal and impaired cognition, a corpus of knowledge for application to clinical neuropsy- chology, and some hints as to the links between neurological organisation and cognitive function. These are important contributions and Neuropsychological Impairments of Short- Term Memory is edited by two of the best known contributors to this success story. Some of the most prolific researchers in cognitive neuropsychology have contributed to the collection of 18 chapters which combine a single volume of scholarly reviews, empirical work, and detailed case studies of individual patients.
One measure of ongoing success in an area is the extent to which the research endeavour can account for an adequate range of phenomena within the diocese of the topic, and whether it generates fresh lines of enquiry. Certainly there is no absence of well-supported theory or of pointers to new lines of enquiry. This is clear for example in the Craik, Morris and Gick chapter on age differences in working memory, in the Kinsbourne and Hicks chapter on time estimation in amnesics and normals, in the Saffran and Martin discussion of lexical contributions to short-term memory, or in the exploration by Butterworth and colleagues of short-term retention without short-term memory. There are also several chapters which make detailed and contrasting 'state of the debate' statements about the link between verbal short-term memory and language comprehension. Particularly stimulating on this topic were the chapters by McCarthy and Warrington and by Caplan and Waters. The Caplan and Waters chapter is also notable for its extremely useful and comprehensive summary of patients previously described in the literature who have impairments of phonological processing and of phonological storage.
It was refreshing, for example in the chapter by Friedrich, to read about the possible influence of strategic use of multiple codes for short-term storage tasks both in normal subjects and in patients. One important implication of this is that impaired performance in patients may result from the use of intact parts of the cognitive system or alternative codes which are not optimal for the task in hand. In other words the pattern of impairment observed in a patient may reflect a learned coping strategy involving alternative codes rather than the operation of the damaged section of the cognitive system. These are crucial, but not universally recognised caveats for studies of neuropsychological patients.
The influence of the Baddeley and Hitch articulatory loop model in studies of verbal short-term memory constitutes a significant theme throughout the book. Alan Baddeley's review of the basic findings and statement of his current views on the model, together with the first chapter by Shallice and Vallar do much to set a context for the debate in the chapters which follow. Moreover, the book as a whole serves as a source of
multiple single case studies, focused on one class of cognitive functions and associated impairments. This effectively ad- dresses a well-rehearsed criticism of the use of group based studies of brain damaged subjects (e.g. Caramazza, 1986 [1]; Caramazza and McCloskey, 1988 [2]), an issue that crops up at various points in the book. In providing a collection of such detailed case studies, the chapters offer a rare opportunity to consider a significant body of data that is expertly targeted theoretically and empirically on verbal short-term memory function.
These are exciting and flourishing lines of research, and interested researchers would find the chapters invaluable. What is also interesting about the book is that it accurately reflects the focus of contemporary research on verbal short- term memory. Sadly this is at the expense (in the literature as well as in the book) of a consideration that neuropsychology might tell us something about how other kinds of information are stored on a temporary basis. There are a few exceptions in the book, such as Graham Hitch's review of the developmental literature where he discusses visual temporary storage, and the Kinsbourne and Hicks chapter which considers impairments of time estimation. In a number of the other chapters visual short-term retention is mentioned, but it is conceived in terms of an alternative mode of storage when verbal short-term memory is impaired. However, there are few suggestions as to the detailed characteristics of this alternative visual system or of any other aspects of temporary storage. This is in stark contrast to the sophisticated treatment of verbal short-term memory. Perhaps if the book had been called 'Neuropsycho- logical Impairments of Verbal Short-Term Memory' then these omissions would be less salient.
A further issue that would be worthy of further discussion is the lack of normative data on the range of tests of impaired cognitive function. The provision of norms from the healthy population would greatly increase our confidence that the patterns of data obtained from patients demonstrate genuine impairments relative to normal cognitive function and that the observed patterns in patients do not arise from a lack of reliability in the choice of measures. One way in which this is tackled with patients is by using a range of different measures, ostensibly of the same cognitive functions, on several occa- sions, thereby adopting a process of converging operations. However, this procedure is not conclusive without some knowledge of the reliability of the measures across and within individuals in the healthy population, and the relevant data are rarely collected.
My only other criticisms are minor in that there are places where a final read through and polish might have led to one or two of the longer chapters being more concise, and also could have picked up on the typesetting errors which appeared in a few of the chapters.
The book was published in 1990, and this is a field where data collection is gathering pace. Nevertheless it is a significant book that will continue, for some time to come, to offer an invaluable source for researchers, for clinicians, and for graduate students interested in deficits of verbal short-term memory.
327
328 Book Review
References
1. Caramazza, A. On drawing inferences about the structure of normal cognitive systems from the analysis of patterns in impaired performance: The case for single-case studies. Brain Cognit. 5, 41-66, 1986.
2. Caramazza, A. and McCloskey, M. The case for single-patient studies. Cognit. Neuropsychol. 5, 517- 528, 1988.
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