Understanding memory dynamics in stroke patients: Learning and forgetting patterns based on verbal recall.

Memory deficits are common post stroke. Most episodic memory tests consist of a learning phase, immediate recall and a 30-min delayed recall test. Recent research suggests a proportion of stroke patients exhibit accelerated long-term forgetting after a longer delay. Based on a word-list learning test in stroke patients and controls, we demonstrate that stroke patients recalled fewer words after five learning trials, and on 30-min and 1-week delayed recall tests, caused by shallower learning curves and higher percentages of forgetting.