Preserved memory monitoring but impaired memory control during episodic encoding in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Metamemory awareness refers to the ability to monitor and control how well information is processed depending on the loads and needs of the task at hand. There is some evidence that metamemory functions are impaired in schizophrenia at the time of memory retrieval. This study investigated whether patients with schizophrenia exhibit metamemory abnormalities during the encoding of new information. The frequency of item presentation was varied. Both memory control and memory monitoring were assessed using study-time allocation and Judgments of Learning (JOL), respectively. Repeated items were recalled better by both groups, but memory performance was lower in patients than controls. Patients' behavior patterns were abnormal in terms of the study-time allocated for each item according to presentation frequency. Patients' JOLs were lower than those of controls but remained sensitive to item repetition. Patients' predictive values on memory accuracy were no different to those measured in controls. In addition, none of the patients reported using efficient strategies to help memorize target items. The results show a dissociation between memory control, which was impaired, and memory monitoring, which was spared, in patients with schizophrenia during encoding of new information.

Memory-Related Metacognition in Patients with Schizophrenia

“…In the meantime, the prospective metamemory judgments of patients with schizophrenia are lower than those of healthy participants (Bacon et al, 2001;Bacon et al, 2007;Souchay et al, 2006;Thuaire et al, 2012. However, most of the time they are still able to discriminate between what they know and what they do not know, and their gamma correlations are usually higher than zero (Bacon and Izaute, 2009;Bacon et al, 2001;Bacon et al, 2007;Moritz and Woodward, 2006;Souchay et al, 2006;Thuaire et al, 2012). In addition, the mechanisms underlying the prospective FOK judgments for short-term memory and semantic memory seem to be grounded, as in healthy subjects (Koriat 1993;Koriat 1995), in the accessibility of partial information, products of memory recovery (Bacon and Izaute, 2008;Bacon and Izaute, 2009).…”

“…In the meantime, the prospective metamemory judgments of patients with schizophrenia are lower than those of healthy participants (Bacon et al, 2001;Bacon et al, 2007;Souchay et al, 2006;Thuaire et al, 2012. However, most of the time they are still able to discriminate between what they know and what they do not know, and their gamma correlations are usually higher than zero (Bacon and Izaute, 2009;Bacon et al, 2001;Bacon et al, 2007;Moritz and Woodward, 2006;Souchay et al, 2006;Thuaire et al, 2012).…”

“…They have difficulty organizing the information in memory (Brebion et al, 2004;Landgraf et al, 2011). Moreover, Bacon et al (2007) observed that their spontaneous study time allocation as a function of repetition of learning was inadequate. In this study, participants were instructed to memorize pairs of words with a view to recalling the target word when presented with the first word of the pair (Nelson and Narens, 1990).…”

“…The study by Bacon et al (2007) set out to assess the respective contributions of control and monitoring processes towards the strategic regulation of episodic memory function. Participants had to learn 30 pairs of words.…”

Metacognition as self-control

“…À titre d'exemples de ce type de problème, rappelons que les patients très déprimés présentent à la fois des déficits mémoriels et métamémoriels, tandis que les patients faiblement déprimés présentent seulement une baisse de performance métacognitive [28]. Les patients atteints du syndrome de Korsakoff ont un déficit double (mémoriel et métamémoriel [16]), tandis que les patients atteints de schizophrénie ont uniquement une perturbation portant sur la capacité de choisir la commande adaptée à un monitoring par ailleurs correct [1]. Il existe probablement une distinction fonctionnellement analogue dans les problèmes perturbant soit le contrôle, soit le suivi des affects et des motivations -par exemple chez les patients alexithymiques, anxieux, et dépressifs, comme dans le domaine de l'action et de sa planification chez les patients présentant des TOC, des phobies, des comportements addictifs au risque, etc.…”