The generation effect (GE) has been proven as an effective technique to improve learning and memory in healthy and clinical populations. However, it has not been found with meaningless materials such as pseudowords. Several hypotheses postulate the participation of semantic memory in the information-generating process. There is indeed a clear decrease in the effect in patients with serious semantic memory disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) but, if this is correct, other patients whose memory disorders are not so serious, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), should show GE to some extent. To test this hypothesis, we examined 54 participants (18 healthy adults, 18 patients with AD, and 18 with MCI) in a task involving reading and completion of phrases. Results show a decreased (although obvious) GE in patients with MCI. Likewise, results indicate that greater semantic damage will lead to poorer performance with less familiar stimuli or low-frequency words.
Baddeley A. , Wilson BAWhen implicit learning fails: amnesia and the problem of error elimination . Neuropsychologia. 1994;32(1): 53-68.
2.
Glisky EL, Schacter DL, Tulving E.Learning and retention of computer-related vocabulary in memory-impaired patients: method of vanishing cues. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol . 1986;8(3):292-312.
3.
Slamecka NJ, Graf P.The generation effect: delineation of a phenomenon. J Exp Psychol Hum Learn. 1978;4(6):592-604.
4.
Basso MR, Lowery N., Ghormley C., Combs D., Johnson J.Self-generated learning in people with multiple sclerosis. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2006;12(5):640-648.
5.
Einstein GO, McDaniel MA, Bowers CA, et al. Memory for prose: the influence of relational and proposition-specific encoding. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1984 ;10(1):133-143.
6.
Derwinger A. , Stigsdotter Neely A., Bäckman L.Design your own memory strategies! Self-generated strategy training versus mnemonic training in old age: An 8-month follow-up. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2005;15(1):37-54.
7.
Kinjo H., Snodgrass JGDoes generation effect occur for pictures? Am J Psychol . 2000;113(1):95-121.
8.
Lutz J., Briggs A.Cain K.An examination of the value of the generation effect for learning new material . J Gen Psychol. 2003;130(2):171-188.
9.
McElroy LA, Slamecka NJMemorial consequences of generating nonwords: implications for semantic-memory interpretations of the generation effect. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1982;21:249-259.
10.
Mulligan NWThe generation effect: dissociating enhanced item memory and disrupted order memory. Mem Cognit. 2002;30(6):850-861.
11.
Nairne JS, Widner RL Jr.Generation effects with nonwords: the role of test appropriateness . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1987;13(1):164-171.
12.
Gardiner JM , Hampton JASemantic memory and the generation effect: Some tests of the lexical activation hypothesis. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1985;11(4):732-741.
13.
Begg I., Snider A., Foley F., et al. The generation effect is not an artifact: generating makes words distinctive. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1989;15(5):977-989.
14.
Taconnat L. , Isingrini M.Cognitive operations in the generation effect on a recall test: role of aging and divided attention. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2004;30(4):827-837.
15.
Chiaravalloti ND, DeLuca J.Self-Generation as a means of maximizing learning in multiple sclerosis: An application of the generation effect. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83(8):1070-1079.
16.
DeLuca J., Schultheis MT, Madigan NK, Christodoulou C., Averill A.Acquisition versus retrieval deficits in traumatic brain injury: implications for memory rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2000 ;81(10):1327-1333.
17.
Barrett AM, Crucian GP, Schwartz RL, Heilman KMTesting memory for self-generated items in dementia. Neurology . 2000;54(6):1258-1264.
18.
Mitchell DB , Hunt RR, Schmitt FAThe generation effect and reality monitoring: Evidence from dementia and normal aging. J Gerontol. 1986;41(1):79-84.
19.
Dick MB, Kean ML, Sands D.Memory for internally generated words in Alzheimer-type dementia: breakdown in encoding and semantic memory. Brain Cogn. 1989;9(1):88-108.
20.
Multhaup KS , Balota DAGeneration effects and source memory in healthy older adults and in adults with dementia of the Alzheimer type . Neuropsychology. 1997;11(3):382-391.
21.
Burns DJThe generation effect: a test between single and multifactor theories . J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 1990;16(6):1060-1067.
22.
Donaldson W. , Bass M.Relational information and memory for problem solutions. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1980;19(1):26-35.
23.
Hirshman E. , Bjork RAThe generation effect: Support for a two-factor theory. J Exp Psychol Gen. 1988;14(3):484-494.
24.
Kinoshita S.Generation enhances semantic processing? The role of distinctiveness in the generation effect. Mem Cognit . 1989;17(5):563-571.
25.
McDaniel MA , Waddill PJGeneration effects for context words: implications for item-specific and multi-factor theories. J Mem Lang. 1990;29(2):201-211.
26.
McDaniel MA , Waddill PJ, Einstein GOA contextual account of the generation effect: a three-factor theory. J Mem Lang . 1988;27(5):521-536.
27.
McElroy LAThe generation effect with homographs: evidence for post-generation processing . Mem Cognit. 1987; 15(2):148-153.
28.
Mulligan NWGeneration and hypermnesia. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2001;27(2):436-450.
29.
Pesta BJ, Sanders RE, Murphy MDA beautiful day in the neighborhood: what factors determine the generation effect for simple multiplication problems? Mem Cognit. 1999;27(1):106-115.
30.
Jacoby LLOn interpreting the effects of repetition: solving a problem versus remembering a solution. J Verb Learn Verb Behav. 1978;22:649-667.
31.
Fiedler K., Lachnit H., Fay D., Krug C.Mobilization of cognitive resources and the generation effect. Q J Exp Psychol A. 1992;45(1):149-171.
32.
Gollub D., Healy AFWord recall as a function of sentence context. Bull Psychon Soc. 1987;25:359-360.
33.
McFarland CEJ , Frey TJ, Rhodes DDRetrieval of internally versus externally generated words in episodic memory. J Verb Learn Verb Behav . 1980;19(2):210-225.
34.
Taconnat L. , Isingrini M.Mémoire et Vieillissement: Effet de la difficulté d’un tâche de production sur une tâche de rappel libre [Aging and memory: effect of the difficulty of the generation task on a free recall test]. Annee Psychol . 1996; 96(1):67-84.
35.
De Winstanley PA, Bjork EL, Bjork RAGeneration effect and the lack thereof: the role of transfer-appropiate processing. Memory. 1996;4(1):31-48.
36.
De Winstanley PA, Bjork ELProcessing instructions and the generation effect: a test of the multifactor transfer-appropiate processing theory. Memory. 1997;5(3):401-421.
37.
Steffens MC , Erdfelder E.Determinants of positive and negative generation effects in free recall. Q J Exp Psychol. 1998;51(4): 705-733.
38.
McNamara DS , Healy AFA procedural explanation of the generation effect: the use of an operand retrieval strategy for multiplication and additional problems. J Mem Lang. 1995;34(3): 399-416.
39.
Martin A.The representation of object concepts in the brain. Annu Rev Psychol. 2007;58:25-45.
40.
Noppeney U. , Patterson K., Tyler LK, et al. Temporal lobe lesions and semantic impairment: a comparison of herpes simplex virus encephalitis and semantic dementia. Brain. 2007;130(pt 4): 1138-1147.
41.
Davis MH, Johnsrude ISHierarchical processing in spoken language comprehension. J Neurosci. 2003;23(8):3423-3431.
42.
Giraud AL, Kell C., Thierfelder C., et al. Contributions of sensory input, auditory search and verbal comprehension to cortical activity during speech processing. Cereb Cortex . 2004;14(3): 247-255.
43.
Hart J., Gordon B.Delineation of single-word semantic comprehension deficits in aphasia, with anatomical correlation. Ann Neurol. 1990 ;27(3):226-231.
44.
Rodd JM, Davis MH, Johnsrude ISThe neural mechanisms of speech comprehension: fMRI studies of semantic ambiguity . Cereb Cortex. 2005;15(8):1261-1269.
Cuetos F., González-Nosti M., Martínez C.The picture-naming task in the analysis of cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer’s disease. Aphasiology. 2005;19(6):545-557.
47.
Grossman M. , Robinson K., Bernhardt N., Koenig P.A rule-based categorization deficit in Alzheimer’s disease? Brain Cogn. 2001;45(2):265-276.
48.
Martin A., Fedio P.Word production and comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease: the breakdown of semantic knowledge. Brain Lang. 1983;19(1):124-141.
49.
Cuetos F., Dobarro A., Martínez C.Conceptual decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Neurologia . 2005;20(2):58-64.
50.
Astell AJ, Harley TANaming problems in dementia: semantic or lexical. Aphasiology . 1998;12:357-374.
Burns DJ, Curti E., Lavin JCThe effects of generation on item and order retention in immediate and delayed recall. Mem Cognit. 1993;21(6):846-852.
53.
McKhann G., Drachman D., Folstein M., et al. Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA Work Group under the auspices of Departament of Health and Human Services Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. Neurology . 1984;34(7):939-944.
54.
Grupo de Estudio de Neurología de la Conducta y Demencias.Guías en demencias: Conceptos, Criterios y Recomendaciones Para el Estudio Del Paciente Con Demencia. Barcelona, Spain: Masson; 2002.
55.
Lengenfelder J., Chiaravalloti ND, DeLuca J.The efficacy of the generation effect in improving new learning in persons with traumatic brain injury. Rehabil Psicol. 2007;52(3):290-296.
56.
O’Brien A., Chiaravalloti N., Arango-Lasprilla JC, Lengenfelder J., DeLuca J.An investigation of the differential effect of self-generation to improve learning and memory in multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. Neuropsychol Rehabil . 2007;17(3): 273-292.
57.
Sebastián N., Martí MA, Carreiras MF, Cuetos F.LEXESP: Léxico Informatizado Del Español . Barcelona, Spain: Edicions Universitat de Barcelona; 2000 .
58.
O’Neill W., Roy L., Tremblay R.A translation-based generation effect in bilingual recall and recognition. Mem Cognit. 1993;21(4):488-495.
59.
Watkins MJ, Sechler ESGeneration effect with an incidental memorization procedure. J Mem Lang. 1988;27(5):537-544.
60.
Kane JH, Anderson RCDepth of processing and interference effects in the learning and remembering of sentences. J Educ Psicol. 1978;70(4):626-635.
Glanzer M., Adams JKThe mirror effect in recognition memory. Mem Cognit . 1985;13(1):8-20.
63.
Balota DA, Burgess GC, Cortese MJ, Adams DRThe word-frequency mirror effect in young, old and early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: Evidence for two processes in episodic recognition performance. J Mem Lang. 2002;46(1):199-226.
