Adaptation of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test and Logical Memory Subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scales - 3rd Edition to assess accelerated long-term forgetting in adults with epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE

The present study provides normative data for adapted versions of the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Logical Memory subtest from the Wechsler Memory Scales - 3rd edition (WMS-III-LM), involving both recall and recognition procedures after a 2-week delay to assess accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF). The study also aims to achieve a clinical validation of these tests in a group of people with epilepsy (PWE).

METHODS

A total of 124 (18-55 years old) healthy participants and 30 PWE undergoing presurgical monitoring for drug-resistant seizures completed these tasks. Associations between memory performance and sociodemographic, neuropsychological function, and testing factors were examined among healthy participants. Memory performance was compared between healthy and PWE groups, with special attention to forgetting rates over 2 weeks as a measure of long-term consolidation.

RESULTS

Contrarily to raw recall and recognition performance, forgetting rates over 2 weeks were not significantly modulated by age or sex. As expected, higher forgetting rates and a greater prevalence of ALF were found among PWE compared with healthy participants on both tests.

SIGNIFICANCE: This study offers useful normative data to assess ALF in PWE and provides clinical evidence that our adapted tests can identify long-term consolidation impairments in this population.