Using recognition testing to support semantic learning in developmental amnesia

Patients with developmental amnesia (DA) have suffered hippocampal damage in infancy and subsequently shown poor episodic memory, but good semantic memory. It is not clear how patients with DA learn semantic information in the presence of episodic amnesia. However, patients with DA show good recognition memory and it is possible that semantic learning may be supported by recognition. Building on previous work, we compared two methods for supporting semantic learning in DA; recognition-learning and recall-learning. In each condition, a patient with DA (aged 8 years) was presented with semantic information in animated videos. After each presentation of a video, learning was supported by an immediate memory test. Two videos were paired with a cued recall test. Another two videos were paired with a multiple-choice test to enable recognition-based learning. The outcome measure was semantic recall performance after a short delay of 30 min and a long delay of one week. Results showed a benefit of recognition-learning compared to recall-learning on cued recall in the patient with DA (76% vs. 35%). This finding indicates that young people with severe hippocampal damage can utilize recognition to support semantic learning. This has implications for the support of school-aged children with episodic memory difficulties.