Risk for Mild Cognitive Impairment Is Associated With Semantic Integration Deficits in Sentence Processing and Memory.
OBJECTIVES
We examined the degree to which online sentence processing and offline sentence memory differed among older adults who showed risk for amnestic and nonamnestic varieties of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), based on psychometric classification.


METHOD
Participants (N = 439) read a series of sentences in a self-paced word-by-word reading paradigm for subsequent recall and completed a standardized cognitive test battery. Participants were classified into 3 groups: unimpaired controls (N = 281), amnestic MCI (N = 94), or nonamnestic MCI (N = 64).


RESULTS
Relative to controls, both MCI groups had poorer sentence memory and showed reduced sentence wrap-up effects, indicating reduced allocation to semantic integration processes. Wrap-up effects predicted subsequent recall in the control and nonamnestic groups. The amnestic MCI group showed poorer recall than the nonamnestic MCI group, and only the amnestic MCI group showed no relationship between sentence wrap-up and recall.


DISCUSSION
Our findings suggest that psychometrically defined sub-types of MCI are associated with unique deficits in sentence processing and can differentiate between the engagement of attentional resources during reading and the effectiveness of engaging attentional resources in producing improved memory.
['Payne|Brennan R|BR|', 'Stine-Morrow|Elizabeth A L|EA|']
D000368:Aged D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007802:Language D008297:Male D008569:Memory Disorders D009483:Neuropsychological Tests D012307:Risk Factors
Mild cognitive impairment Sentence processing Sentence memory Reading Aging